


Becoming A Stark?

by Alwaysgurl43



Series: Becoming A Stark Series [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Bisexuality, Diabetes, F/M, Female Protagonist, Good Peter, JARVIS - Freeform, Male-Female Friendship, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, POV Female Character, Parent Tony Stark, Parent-Child Relationship, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Stark!Reader, Thor - Freeform, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, diabetic, friday - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 82,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25578145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alwaysgurl43/pseuds/Alwaysgurl43
Summary: You find out you're the daughter of Tony Stark after fourteen years of not having a father. Now you have to deal with the twists and turns of living with the father you didn't know existed. Add to it that you're pretty sure you hate him.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Starks, Peter Parker/Reader
Series: Becoming A Stark Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000857
Comments: 142
Kudos: 292





	1. Chapter 1

You feel it in your soul that you will hate Tony Stark for the rest of your life. It doesn’t matter that you’re related to him. It doesn’t matter that you’re his daughter. He ripped you from everything you’ve ever known. You were happy living with your grandparents. Sure they were getting up there in age, but you were happy. You had a life, you had friends, hell you had been working on moving forward with your crush and were hoping to have a date to homecoming this year. But all of that was ruined the day that Tony Stark waltzed through your front door. You can’t help but think back to that interaction. 

**“Nana, who’s this?”**

**“Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, philanthropist, Iron Man, to name a few things. I’d offer a hand but that’s not something I normally do. I guess, maybe I should due to the circumstances but…” It’s not the first time you’ve seen his face. The Avengers have saved New York a few times, but it is the first time you’ve seen him up close. The dark haired stranger trails off and you’re put off by his attitude alone. Why was someone this stuck up standing in your living room? So instead of saying anything, you turn your head back to your book. Tony decides to take a seat at the opposite end of the couch and tries again. “What are you reading?”**

**Instead of answering, you just hold up the book and let him read the cover. Once and Future, spelled out on the spine of the book that you had removed the book jacket from while you read. “Y/N, maybe put the book down for a few minutes. I think Mr. Stark-”**

**“Tony is fine.”**

**“I think Tony and you need to discuss something.” You hesitantly pick up the receipt you had been using as a bookmark and slide it into the book, not wanting to leave Ari Helix behind, but you wouldn’t be rude to your Nana on a good day. On a day that you had trudged through the snow in your converse, maybe, but not on purpose.**

**“I don’t know him. I don’t think we have anything to discuss.”**

**“You’re right, we don’t know each other yet, but I’m hoping that will change with everything that’s going to happen.”**

**“What’s going to happen?” You can feel your eyebrows fall towards your eyes as you feel as though something is about to change without your permission.**

**“Well Y/N, I’m… I’m your dad.”**

**“Bullshit.” You say quickly. “Tony Stark doesn’t have kids. And if he did, there would have been a fucking gossip blog screaming about it already.”**

**“Well you definitely have my mouth if nothing else.” Tony adds with a chuckle.**

**“I don’t have anything of yours, because you’re not my dad. I never want to see you again. Get the fuck out.” You push off the couch and turn to run off to your room.**

**“See that’s going to be a little tough seeing as you're supposed to come live with me.”**

**“What the fuck did you just say?” You turn on your heels, the anger building quickly. You’ve always been a bit of a hot head, but in this moment you don’t even try to control your temper. “I have a home, thank you** **_very kindly_ ** **. I don’t fucking know you. And I’m not looking to find a dad anytime soon.” The words spit out of you before you can stop any of them.**

**“See the thing is, you’re fourteen and I’m your dad. Custodially, you’re supposed to live with me.”**

**“See the thing is,” you mock before continuing, “You didn’t care for fourteen years, so I don’t give a shit what you think you’re supposed to be doing** **_custodially_ ** **.” You can’t help but add air quotes around the word custodially. It burns as it leaves your lips. He hasn’t cared about you for fourteen years, why start now?**

**“That’s because I didn’t know you existed Y/N. I found out about you twenty four hours ago and I’m stepping up now.” The words leave his mouth in an exasperated tone, but he doesn’t raise his voice.**

**“How?”**

**“How what?”**

**“How did you find out about me?”**

**“Your high school.”**

**“What?”**

**“When you registered for school they had your birth certificate. They needed more information. Since it listed me as your father, they reached out to Nat- to my assistant. It was quite the shock to me that my child’s school was reaching out to me, since I didn’t know I had a child but the timing adds up and looking at you, it makes a lot of sense.”**

**“You were listed on my birth certificate?” This question was aimed at your grandparents more than at Tony-your father.**

**“We didn’t know if it was true or not. Your mom was in a bad place when she had you Y/N. So we had to take everything she said with a grain of salt. Was she beautiful and loving and did she love you? Yes completely. But did a lot of what she said during that time make sense? No, not at all.” Your nana says as she sits down on the couch, rubbing her knee. It’s probably another bad day. If you leave, who will make sure Nana and Pops are ok?**

**“I can’t go with you.” You cross your arms as you speak to Ton-your father.**

**“Why not?” His eyebrow raises over his square glasses.**

**“‘Cuz someone has to help Nana and Pops around the house.”**

**“I’ll make sure there’s a nurse helping them. Or better we can move them into a nursing facility where they don’t have to go up and down a bunch of flights of steps all the time.”**

**“Why would you do that.” The question came out as a demand, especially since you don’t want to believe this man that’s taking you away from the only family you’ve ever known would do something… nice.**

**“Because they’re your family. I’m not heartless. Well I guess that depends on what your belief on science is and arc reactors are, but technically I do still have a heart underneath all of this.” He points to where you know there would be metal and lights under his suit. “But for right now, we need to focus on getting you to the tower.”**

**“What tower?”**

**“Avenger’s tower? It’s closer than Malibu? And in less shambles.”**

**“So you’re moving me from the home that I know and love, but you don’t even live where you’re moving me?”**

**“I live there a lot of the time. And the Avengers are there most of the time which means you’ll be very safe. But I do have to travel for business.”**

**“Then I’ll stay where I am thanks.” Tony goes to speak when Wallace goes off. The beeping is only jarring for him since you and your Nana are used to it going off at random times.**

**“What the hell is that?”**

**“That is Wallace.” You say, not clearing up anything. Hmmm, your Dexcom says you’re 205 and rising? You could have sworn you had insulin on board. So you unclip the pump from your side and tap the screen to enter your blood sugar. No correction needed.**

**“You good babydoll?” Your nana asks from across the living room.**

**“I’m good. I have insulin on board.”**

**“You’re diabetic?” Tony asks, putting two and two together.**

**“Yup. Have been since I was four.”**

**“And Wallace?” He asks hesitantly.**

**“Do you honestly care?” You say before rolling your eyes and walking towards the kitchen. Mentally, you slap yourself. You should have grabbed your book. Now you’ll either have to start a new one or wait until your father, you roll your eyes at even saying it, leaves so you can continue your space adventure. Walking down the hallway you enter your room and close the door behind you. All you want to do is shut out the bombshell that was dropped on you and not deal with it. But for some reason you get the feeling that Tony Stark, freaking Iron Man, isn’t one to just let things go.**

**Giving up on the idea of starting another book, you open your computer and click your Spotify to start playing the playlist you had paused this morning when you had left to run errands with Pops. You only have two weeks of summer left, so you had spent time getting school supplies and groceries before returning to the apartment. While Hitchin’ A Ride by Green Day starts playing, you open Twitter, hoping for anything to distract yourself. But somehow you find yourself on Tony Stark’s Twitter. It was less narcissistic that you imagined for him. Some retweets about Stark Industries, a few comical tweets about wanting a cheeseburger, and then a tweet from twenty four hours that just said HOLY SHIT in all caps and nothing else. Could that be about you? Closing out Twitter, you find yourself opening up your Tumblr to scroll as Lithium by Nirvana played. Or well you tried to scroll, but a knock on your door interrupts you.**

**“Can I come in?” Tony’s head peaks in.**

**“If I say no will you go?” You say without looking up.**

**“Probably not. The people in my inner circle say I’m fairly stubborn.”**

**“Hmm.” Is the only reply you give him. To be fair, a lot of your friends would say you’re stubborn too so it’s not that surprising that your father is too.**

**“I know you don’t like it kiddo-”**

**“Don’t call me kiddo.**

**“-but we do need to head to the Tower soon. Happy’s been parked downstairs for about as long as he’s allowed to be there.” Tony continues as if you hadn’t said anything. “So how about you pack up stuff you’ll need for the next few days and then I can send Happy and some other people to come get the rest later on?”**

**“You’re going to send people to pack up my stuff? You know how invasive that is?”**

**“Ok, I’ll send you over with them, you can pack it up and they’ll move it to the tower, it’s your choice. Or to Malibu if you’d rather. Well that is once the rebuild is done. Long story. But if you stay at the tower, you won’t have to change schools.”**

**“Yippee. Everyone at school will get to find out that Tony Stark is my father. How much fun will that be.” Your voice is dripping with sarcasm. “I definitely wanted to be ostracized my first year at high school. Thanks for making it even better than I could ever imagine high school being.”**

**“Look I know this isn’t a win/win scenario, but we can keep your name out of the press until your eighteen if you want. You’re a minor-”**

**“Yeah, but when the paparazzi see me coming out of the tower, that won’t tip them off.”**

**“I’ll have Happy drive you. There’s a garage entrance. No one will see you coming or leaving.”**

**“Great so I just have to give up my freedom. That’s even better than I imagined.”**

**“Y/N, I know this isn’t what you wanted, or even what you want, but I think we can come up with something that works in the long run. Plus I’m having Pepper, you’ll meet her later, take over SI so I won’t have to do as much. I can try to stay in New York as much as possible. Because no matter what happens, you’re my daughter and I want to know you.” You don’t say anything in response. “I hope one day, you feel similarly.” He says softly.**

**“I doubt it.” You say honestly.**

**“Well even if that’s the case, right now we do need to pack up some stuff to take to the tower for now. Want me to hel-” He starts to pick up a sweatshirt from the end of your bed and you snatch it from his hand as you reply.**

**“I’ve got it.”**

“Y/N, we’re here.” Your father’s voice pulls you from your thoughts and you look at the non descript parking garage that is under what you assume is the tower. The man you’ve figured out is Happy, though he’s the exact opposite of Happy, opens your door and you climb out, knowing that Tony will be behind you. Happy goes to grab your bags from the trunk, but you stop him. 

“I’ve got it.”

“It’s part of my job.”

“I don’t have an issue carrying my own stuff like some people.” From the trunk you lift out your purple backpack, the black rolling suitcase, and the canvas bag that’s filled with all your pump supplies, sensors, and insulin. You follow Tony and Happy towards an elevator. 

“JARVIS take us to the main floors.”

“Certainly sir.” You look up expecting to see a face or something but there’s no one there.

“JARVIS is the AI that runs the whole tower. If you need anything JARVIS is the one to ask. If there’s specific food you want or if you need stuff for school or, well, anything really, just ask JARVIS. I’ll get you added to the levels of clearance that allow you to order anything that you want.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Part of you living with me is that I’m going to provide for you. JARVIS is part of providing for you. I’m not the best at remembering to like grocery shop or send the laundry out so JARVIS helps with that.”

“Send the laundry out? Do you not have a washer and dryer in this whole place?” You cock an eyebrow at how spoiled he sounds.

“We do, but there are other things that take time away from me.” You add continue to do my own laundry to the mental list of things that will make you different from your father. Tony notices the disapproval marked in his daughter’s face and hopes that maybe meeting the Avengers will make up for the disappointment he’s been to her so far. The doors open and in the living room Natasha and Clint are sitting watching a movie while Steve sits in a chair reading a book. “Where’s Code Green?”

“In the lab,” Steve comments, not looking up from the page he’s on.

“That’s Capsicle. Legolas is sitting next to Nat. Big Green is down in the lab and Point Break is currently back at home but you’ll meet him eventually, though hopefully not his brother.” At the sound of being introduced the three in the living room look up and see the girl standing next to Tony in surprise.

“Uh, Tony, are we taking pint size Avengers now?” Clint asks.

“I might be small, but I can kick your knees out just as easily.” You pull on the strap of your backpack, not really wanting to be in this room much longer. 

“Ok, before you kick anyone’s knees out. This is not an Avenger recruit. This is Y/N Stark, my daughter.” Ok taking on his last name was something you were going to have to talk to him about because you were perfectly happy being Y/N Y/L/N, not this Y/N Stark bullshit.

“You have a kid?” Steve asks, genuine confusion spread across his face. 

“I do. I didn’t know until yesterday, but I’m doing the right thing.” You can’t stop the snort that escapes you. Tony looks over at you.

“Sorry,” You say although you don’t mean it. “Can I es- go to my room?”

“‘Yes, you can escape to your room. I’ll show you where it is.” 

“I got it boss. I think you have some people that need answers.” Happy offers. You’re silently relieved that Happy offered to show you. If you had to spend another minute with your dad, you might lose your mind. Happy walks you into the kitchen and opens the fridge as you go past it. You look at him, trying to figure out why he’s opening it. “Tony told me you’re diabetic. You have insulin that needs refrigeration right?”

“Oh, yeah I just didn’t know he told you.”

“Head of security. There’s not much he doesn’t tell me.” Happy turns them towards a staircase leading away from where all the Avengers are. “But you know if you need someone to talk to, or grab a cheeseburger with, there’s things he doesn’t have to know about.”

“I don’t eat meat, but I appreciate it, Happy.”

“He’s going to say you’re not his kid if you don’t eat cheeseburgers.” And for the first time since all of this started, you actually let out a laugh.

Tony’s head turns towards the sound of the laugh. It’s unfamiliar, but he wants to hear more of it. He’s missed fourteen years of your life, but he wants to make things better, he does. He’s just not sure how.

“So you found out you have a kid?” Steve asks, his book forgotten now.

“Yeah, yesterday I found out I had a fourteen year old and then it’s been a whole process of finding out that since she’s mine I have custody technically.”

“So you took her away from all she knows?” Natasha's voice comes softly from the couch. 

“I guess you could say that.”

“Did you give her a choice?” Natasha asks, harsher this time. In her eyes anyone could see the remainders of another girl that was taken from all she ever knew and replaced with a hard boiled assassin.

“In the eyes of the state she doesn’t really have a choice.”

“So you didn’t give her a choice.”

“She’s got a medical condition that was costing her family thousands a month on top of her grandparents’ conditions. I’m helping!” Tony’s voice raises for the first time this afternoon since he tried to stay calm around his kid.

“You think you’re helping, but you’re taking her from the only life she’s ever known and I’m betting you gave her no choice in this. All you might get out of this is four years with her and then she disappears from your life.” Clint says softly, not trying to upset Tony, but also hearing the points that Natasha was bringing up. 

“You’re going to have to work hard to make this worth it to Y/N, Tony.” Steve says before picking up his book.


	2. Chapter 2

You’ve been staring at the ceiling for hours. You had told Tony you were heading to bed at ten, mainly because you couldn’t stand him looking at you any more, especially since he looked at you like you were going to disappear most of the time. It was straight up creepy. Add to everything, you’re starving. A grumbly stomach and a mind that doesn’t want to shut off makes it impossible to go to sleep. You check Wallace and you’re sitting at 136, which isn’t surprising since you didn’t really eat anything but veggies at dinner since Tony didn’t realize that you are vegetarian so there wasn’t much besides veggies that you could eat of the food that Steve had made. You need real food though or you’re never going to sleep. In your mind you trace through how to get to the kitchen and you think you can get there without getting lost or waking up the other Avengers. 

Opening your door, you peak your head out just to see if you spy anyone down the hallway. Seeing the coast is clear, you step softly onto the floor outside your door, almost waiting for an alarm to go off yelling that you’re leaving your room. But after a few heartbeats thudding in your ears and nothing happening, you decide to make your way down the steps to the kitchen. “Jarvis?” You whisper.

“Yes, Miss Y/N?” The voice booms over the speakers that you haven’t seen.

“Shhhh. Take it down a few levels. And turn the lights on in the kitchen.”

“Certainly Miss Y/N.” The lights are blinding after being in your room in the dark for so long.

“Jarvis, dim the lights by uh 75%.”

“Certainly Miss Y/N.” The lights drop drastically and you feel more comfortable. Walking to the pantry, you look for something easy to make. There are ingredients for fancier dishes that you have no patience to make, so instead you reach for a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and then make your way to the fridge to look for jelly. Setting your ingredients on the counter, you grab a paper towel to make your sandwich on before setting on your way of making your sandwich. 

“Midnight snack? Or well two am snack?” A voice suddenly comes from the other side of the island and you nearly jump out of your skin.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Your hand slams to your chest as you knife clatters to the counter. “Do you try to scare people to death?”

“To be fair you did move in with an ex-assassin.” Natasha says with a soft smile as she sits down on the bar stool across from where you stand. 

“It wasn’t by choice.”

“I had a feeling.” Natasha’s red hair is pulled into a low ponytail. Her eyes rome over you, seeing the bits of Tony that are in you even though you didn’t know you were related until this morning.

“Want a sandwich?” You offer, trying not to be rude. The other Avengers, you don’t have anything against personally. Just the one who stripped you from your house with his fatherly claim.

“If your sugars are low, I’m not taking your food away from you.” Natasha holds up her hands, trying to show she comes in peace.

“Is there anyone he didn’t tell I’m diabetic to?” You roll your eyes as you slide the sandwich in her direction, grabbing another paper towel to make another. “Wallace says I’m fine for now. I can make another.”

“Wallace?”

“My blood sugar monitor. It’s actually called a Dexcom, but I named it Wallace so that I can say things like Goddamn it Wallace when he wakes me up in the middle of the night. My pump is named Queenie. I think it’s more personal when they have names.”

“I like it.” Natasha lets a small smile escape her as she takes a bite of the sandwich you made. “And to answer your question, he told us all the emergency information about it that your grandmother shared with him. He just wanted all of us to be prepared in case we’re here and he’s not. But if you feel better we can not mention it.”

“It’s fine. It’s been a part of my life as long as I can remember.”

“He’ll probably try to invent something to make your life easier.”

“Seeing as his last thing to make my life  _ easier _ stripped me of everything I’ve ever known, I’ll turn down that option.” You say with a sneer.

“He means well. Tony just doesn’t always think everything through before he acts.”

“That doesn’t make it any better.” You finish making your sandwich and after throwing the knife in the sink, you enter the carbs into Queenie.

“It doesn’t, but don’t hate him just yet ok?” 

“Fine.” Natasha leads you to the couch, where you and her sit, talking for what feels like hours about trivial things until you fall asleep. She wraps a blanket around you, then falls asleep next to you. 

Waking up in the morning feels different for Tony. For starters, it’s his first full day of being a dad, even if said kid hates him. True yesterday was probably his first full day, but today is the first full day of having you under his roof. Leaving his room, he makes his way towards the kitchen, thinking he’ll check in on you on his way to get coffee. However when he finds an open door and an empty bed, his heart starts racing. Not even 24 hours into this and he’s lost his kid. “JARVIS find Y/N.”

“Miss Y/N is in the living room.” Are you that early of a riser that you are up at 6:30 on a summer day? Like he himself is only up because he has an idea for your pump that he wants to work on. Bypassing the kitchen and coffee, he makes his way to the living room, needing to calm his heart down. What he finds is not what he’s expecting. The sight in front of him is you, wrapped in a white knitted blanket curled into the side of the deadliest assassin in the world. But you were asleep and safe, that’s what matters. He tries to steady his heart before turning back towards the kitchen, not wanting to wake you yet, since he wasn’t sure when you actually went to sleep. Looking in the sink as he passed to grab a coffee mug, he spies a knife with peanut butter and jelly smeared along the tip. He’s going to have to figure out what you eat since you don’t eat meat. Steve has been cooking for everyone a lot, but with you not eating animals and him cooking a lot of meat and potato meals, there needs to be a compromise. Tony will figure something out, it’s the fatherly thing to do.

Filling a coffee cup up with the liquid he was craving, he starts to type up some of the ideas he had on his Stark Phone so that he can get the ideas down without having to go all the way down to the lab. With you sleeping on the couch, this is the closest you’ve been to him without a grimace plastered on your face since he met you.

“Sir, you said to alert you if Miss Y/N went below 100.” JARVIS’s voice speaks out. 

“The actual fuck.” Your voice fills the kitchen as you pad into it from the living room. Tony spins around to look at his daughter, the knit blanket wrapped around your shoulders.

“What?”

“You have your AI monitoring my blood sugar?” You spat out before Tony can respond.

“JARVIS monitors a lot of things for me.”

“That’s fucking creepy. And also you have it set way too high. There’s nothing to do if it’s at 100. That’s a good blood sugar. Have Dexcom send you alerts to your phone like a fucking normal person.” You turn and storm out of the kitchen. You had been used to constant monitoring when you were a kid. But you had been allowed to be the person watching your sugars for years. Having an AI watching your sugars was too much.

You throw your book, your headphones and your wallet into your backpack before pulling on a pair of ripped jean shorts and a black graphic t-shirt that says ‘Sorry I’m Late I Didn’t Want To Come’. Slipping on a pair of galaxy high top converse that you love and sliding a pair of black and gold could have been Ray Bans if you had the money into your hair, you figure that if you slip out the back end of the hallway, Tony won’t see you leave. Checking Queenie before you walk out the door, you have plenty of insulin so you’ll spend the day out of the eye of your overbearing father and in the city you love. Peaking your head out you see no one out in the hall, not even Natasha. So you slink down the hallway towards the elevator and get on it without anyone noticing. “Jarvis, take me to the ground floor.” You wait for him to say no, but are surprised.

“Certainly Miss Y/N.” Once on the ground floor you pull the sunglasses down, already seeing that there are a few vultures waiting with cameras outside. But when they see it’s just a kid and not one of the Avengers, they let you walk on by without snapping anything. Taking your phone out of your pocket you type a quick message in your group chat to your two best friends, letting them know you’re taking a day off of social media and texting before flipping your phone to airplane mode. No creepy AIs for you today. 

Taking your metro card and headphones out of your backpack, you make your way towards the closest station. If you hop the four or the five train you could head to your favorite coffee shop and even hit up The Strand before making a next move. Swiping your card, you hear the sounds of a train pulling into the station.

Tony throws the screw drive across the bench in frustration. Maybe Y/N was right. Maybe having JARVIS monitoring your sugars was too much, but he doesn’t know how to be any other way. Especially when his child that he’s only known about for two days has a life or death condition. “JARVIS what’s Y/N’s blood sugar?” 

“I don’t know sir. I can’t read it.”

“What?” His project is forgotten, his child the only though in his mind.

“Her phone isn’t connected to the internet.” And your monitor has to link through the internet to connect to JARVIS.

“Is there something wrong with the internet?”

“No. Internet is functioning at 100%.”

“So why is her phone not connected to it?”

“I can not say sir.” Tony pushes away from the bench and makes his way up the stairs to see why your phone isn’t connected to the internet. He looks in the kitchen for you before looking in the living room. He finds only Clint on the couch.

“Have you seen Y/N?”

“Not today. Maybe she’s in her room?” Tony turns and moves quickly through the kitchen and up the stairs, finding your door open. He moves down the hallway to Natasha’s room, hoping she might know where you are. He pounds on the door. 

“What?” The response is short as the door is pried open.

“Y/N, have you seen her?”

“Not since this morning. Why?” Ignoring her, Tony calls out for JARVIS. 

“JARVIS, where is Y/N?”

“Miss Y/N left the tower at 9:46 this morning.”

“Why was I not told?”

“You didn’t ask to be told.”

“Tony, do you think she went home?”

“Maybe? I don’t know. I can’t get a reading on her blood sugars though.” Tony is pacing in the hallway. “What if she’s hurt?” 

“JARVIS can you override her phone?” Natasha asks, not counting on it.

“No I can not. It is not a Stark Phone.”

“That changes immediately.” Tony mutters, but Natasha ignores him. Instead she pulls out her laptop.

“JARVIS can you pull up the security camera footage from the front door from when Y/N left?”

“Of course. I’ll send it to your computer.” The images of Y/N sauntering past the paparazzi, smirking as she pulls her sunglasses on makes Natasha let go of a breathy laugh. She watches as you walk towards the downtown subway station.

“She’s not heading home?” Tony says looking at the screen.

“She’s not?” Natasha asks.

“Her grandparents live in Queens. She wouldn’t take a downtown train to go home.” Natasha hits some keys and runs your face through some camera recognition until she finds where you get off, but shuts the laptop before Tony can see where you got off. “Natasha-”

“If I let you see where she went, you two will get in a screaming match in the middle of the street. Is that really how you want the world to find out that Tony Stark has a child?”

“At least get her to turn her phone on so I can see she’s not dying?”

“I’ll try.”

When you read, you fall so deeply into a book that you don’t have to even think about it. Hours pass, coffee is drunk, and the day rolls away from you. The argument, if you could even call it, with Tony seems days ago now. You’ve always loved the atmosphere of The Bean and would stay there for days if they didn’t have to lock up at times. Turning the page, you push Tony from your head, and just focus on your music. You could live in this moment forever, but out of the corner of your eye you notice a redhead sitting down at your table. Glancing up, you shouldn’t be totally surprised that Natasha found you. “I know you’re an assassin, but like stalking is a crime,” You say as you pull the earbuds from your ears.

“Tracking a runaway here, not stalking.” Natasha says softly as she places fresh coffee in front of the two of you. 

“I didn’t run away. I just needed to get out of that tower. It was suffocating me.” You say as you pick up the cup sitting in front of you.

“You turned your phone off.”

“I didn’t turn it off. I put it on airplane mode.” You can’t help but smile.

“Tony thinks you’re lying passed out on the side of the road because he can’t read your blood sugars.”

“Well let him live like that for a bit. He deserves it after programming his AI to shout my BGs all over the tower.”

“You know Tony doesn’t check his phone right? JARVIS is his phone essentially. So telling him to just send notifications to his phone wouldn’t do much different than having JARVIS tell him stuff.” Natasha reaches a hand across the table to grasp yours. “He’s trying.”

“He’s suffocating me.”

“It’s going to take him a few tries before he gets this right. He could have flown out here in his Iron Man suit to make sure you were still alive. Pretty sure that’s what he wanted to do.”

“Ugh, no! That’s worse than having you stalking me here.”

“Again, not stalking. This was a recovery mission.” Natasha takes a sip from her own mug. “So you going to come home or am I going to have to kidnap you to bring you home?”

“I still have things to get done today.” You say with a non committal shrug.

“Y/N, you’re fourteen. You have to at least tell your guardian when you’re going to run around New York City.”

“He doesn’t even-”

“Don’t say he didn’t care before yesterday, because that’s not fair to either of you. He didn’t know about you before forty eight hours ago. I was there when he got the call.” You think back to last night when Tony introduced Natasha as Nat and things start to make a lot more sense. 

“If you were there, tell me about it.” You say, finally marking your page in the book and setting it aside.

“He was pretty shocked to say the least. He was confused on why a school was calling him, but then to be told it was his daughter’s school, well he basically went into shock. He was listening to them talk about you while I tried to find out what I could about you. When we hung up he shot into a Tony rant about needing to find you and know you. To not be like Howard and to show you that he was going to be there for you.”

“Who’s Howard?” You ask, not following.

“Your grandfather, Tony’s dad. But if you want to know more about him, you’ll have to talk to him.” Natasha takes another sip of her coffee.

“What happened after his rant?”

“He spent most of the night on the phone with his lawyers. Trying to figure out the best plan of attack and what to do for you. Also spent a fair amount of time talking with Pepper about the situation.”

“Who’s Pepper?”

“His girlfriend, but also the CEO of SI.”

“He’s dating his CEO?”

“Technically they were dating before she became CEO. She’s put up with a lot of his shit before and after being placed in the position.”

“Why?”

“Because she loves him.” Natasha says it like it’s an easy answer. “Maybe you should talk with her when you have a chance. She knows that Tony isn’t easy to talk to but he’s worth it more than any of us.”

“Maybe.” You take a sip from your coffee, not wanting to admit that meeting your new to you father’s girlfriend wasn’t something that you were all that interested in.

“You don’t have to decide right now, but you’ll probably meet her eventually.”

“If it happens, it happens I guess.”

“You’d like her I think.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because she doesn’t put up with Tony’s shit either.” Not wanting to hear about Tony much more you shrug. 

“Do you want to see my favorite place in the whole city?” Natasha doesn’t ignore the fact that you’re changing the topic, but nods. You throw your book in your backpack, along with your earbuds, before swallowing the last bit of your coffee. “Come on! It’s right over here.” You motion for her to follow. Across the street, the red banner awaits you. You ignore the carts sitting by the door, wanting to show Natasha the inside beauty of The Strand.

“Wow, you know who would love this place? Steve.” Natasha says as she looks at the shelves that line the walls. Thousands of books fill the store and you could take hours looking at each and everyone.

“My Pops brought me here when I was like six and I’ve been coming here ever since. It’s the best place to find amazing books.” 

“Where do you start looking?”

“Queer YA, always.” You answer without a second thought. “They always have something I haven’t read waiting there for me.”

“Lead the way.” Natasha motions forward, towards the rest of the store, not knowing where that would be, but is willing to follow you.

“Really? I’m not going to force you into seeing what I look at-”

“I want to see the things you’re interested in.” Natasha lets off a soft smile, similar to the ones she had given you last night when talking with you on the couch and you decide to just trust her.

“It’s upstairs.”

“Let’s go.” She follows you up the winding staircase towards the YA section. Even though both of you could have easily made jokes about the Avenger end cap that was meant to inspire reading about ‘Heroes Just Like You’, neither of you point it out as you walk towards the Queer YA table. Looking at the table, it’s easy to fall into the habit of looking at books and picking up ones that interest you- Love Simon, Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe, The Disasters, More Happy Than Not, Every Day, Darius The Great Is Not Ok,and so many others. Natasha eventually takes the books from your arms so you can pick up more.

“I need to pair down. I can’t afford all of these.” You say looking at the pile that has accumulated in her arms.

“Tony can. It’s fine. Ready to pay and head home?” Natasha asks.

“Wait what? I’m not letting him buy these.” You say defensively.

“It’s ok Y/N. You’re his kid and the price of these are pocket change to him.” She starts to make her way towards the staircase to head downstairs to pay.

“Natasha, no. I’ve known him for less than twenty four hours.

“He honestly would demand to pay for them if he was here. I promise, it’s ok.” Natasha steps down the first couple of stairs. “You coming? Or are there more books you want?”

“I’m done.” You say, not wanting her to purchase more stuff in Tony’s name. During the checkout process, you find yourself unable to find your voice as the total just climbs. The number is higher than you’ve ever seen it. Nana and Pops never would have let you spend this much money, but Natasha swipes a black credit card without second thought. You have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach because of it. That much money could have paid for your Nana’s medicine for a month. And as much as you want the books, you know so many other people it could have actually helped and to Tony it was no big deal to drop this amount of money on this stack of books. 

Walking outside of the Strand, you turn to make your way back to the four train when Natasha catches your arm. “This way Y/N.”

“The subway’s this way.” You point down the street.

“Happy’s picking us up.” You don’t say anything, but follow her. Private chauffeur when you have a perfectly working metro card makes no sense. You’ve been using the metro since you were a child, so stopping now makes no sense to you. Honestly, even though there can be weirdos on the subway, you love the feeling of the train moving beneath you. It’s a part of being at home. But maybe this is part of Tony’s whole not touching things that he doesn’t like public transportation? All you have to do is make it through the next two weeks of summer and then you’ll be back at school and hopefully he’ll cool off.

“Romanoff, Y/N.” Happy opens the door for the two of you to slide into the back seat. Natasha gives him that tight smile. And before you know it you’re in the elevator headed back up to the suffocating hellhole that is the tower. You shouldn’t be surprised to see that Tony is waiting for you when you step off the elevator.

“Never, ever shut your phone off like that again.” You roll your eyes, but start to walk away from him. “We’re not done talking Y/N.”

“I’m going to my room. Or is that not allowed now?”

“We’re having a conversation about the fact that you left without telling anyone and that you shut off a major communication device, so no you may not leave right now.” Tony’s face gets red as his anger enters his voice.

“I’ll put these in your room. I think you and Tony need to talk Y/N.” Natasha lifts the bag of books as well as takes the backpack from you. Instead of running to your room like you want to, you slam onto the couch, knowing that even if you did leave to go to your room, Tony would probably follow you.

“I know you’re not ecstatic about this new living situation, but we have to put some ground rules in place.”

“Ecstatic is the last word I would use to describe this.” You motion between Tony and yourself. “You’re treating me like I have no clue how to deal with the disease that I have been dealing with since I was four on top of the fact that you won’t let me walk around the city that I have lived in and traveled in since I was a child. You’re treating me like I’m new to all of this when really the only new thing here is you to my life.”

“Ok maybe I’m not handling your diabetes well. And I’ll work on that. But what you’re not understanding is that you are no longer Y/N Y/L/N. You’re Y/N Stark and there are a lot of people who would do anything to get their hands on you. Which means you can’t just wander the streets of New York without at least telling us where you went and shutting your phone off because it’s a safety issue. If you get hurt, that’s on me. And I’m not letting that happen.”

“People don’t want to get their hands on me. I’m a nobody.” You scoff.

“You’re the heir of Stark Industries. That doesn’t make you a nobody.” Tony runs a hand through his hair. “I didn’t explain that well enough but on your eighteenth birthday you come into a large fortune and then on your twenty first birthday or on the completion of college, whichever comes first, you have the opportunity to take over SI. That puts a large target on your back and I’m sorry about that, but I’m not sorry that I’m going to put your safety first.”

“I don’t want to run Stark Industries.” You say, the disgust at the idea filling your mouth.

“Then we will figure something out, but right now, keeping you safe is my number one concern. So you can not leave the tower without Happy. No more metro hopping, no teenage angsty storming out of the building, and 1000% no turning off your phone so I can’t read your blood sugars. Also your new phone will be here tomorrow.”

“What new phone? My phone works fine.” You casually don’t mention that you’ve had the same phone for three years, but that it’s worked just fine that whole time.

“I can’t have you using competitors’ products. You’re getting a Stark Phone tomorrow.”

“You just want it so your tech can override my settings.” You imply with a scoff.

“Not at all. I can’t have you running around with competitors’ products, especially when it’s being announced on Monday that I have a daughter.”

“What? Why?”

“Because there’s only so many times you can be seen leaving the Tower before people get suspicious. Plus Monday gives Pepper and the legal team to pull together an official statement from SI too.” You drop your head into your hands. “Talk to me kiddo. What’s with the defeated look?”

“We can’t wait until school at least starts?”

“Pep thinks the sooner we announce it the better.”

“Yeah well she never had to go to high school a week after it was announced that she was Tony Stark’s kid and the supposed to be inheritor of SI. I’ll never have a life again. I haven’t even told my friends yet.”

“You have time. Invite them over. They can come over for dinner tomorrow or something.”

“Ugh, fine.”


	3. Chapter 3

You had invited both Betty and Astrid for dinner, like Tony suggested. It had taken a lot of loose excuses to explain why you were picking them up instead of them just coming over and why your Nana and Pops wouldn’t be at dinner. But you and Betty had been best friends since kindergarten and Astrid had joined the two of you when she moved to New York in fourth grade, the three of you inseparable since then so they trusted you. But the idea of bringing your two best friends to the tower and introducing them to the Avengers and more importantly to Tony, that was a whole other thing. Plus Tony had mentioned that Pepper was going to be there, so you were meeting your dad’s girlfriend on top of everything. Tonight could possibly be the worst night of your life if everything goes to shit. 

“Y/N, you ready to pick up Betty and Astrid?” Happy asks from the elevator in the living room.

“No.” You answer honestly as your sandal covered feet drag towards the elevator.

“It’s going to be great.” Bruce calls from the couch where he sits with Natasha.

“We’re excited to meet your friends.” Natasha adds.

“You’re not the one who has to explain that your life is over to your best friends.” You mumble. “Make sure Tony is at least presentable when we get back?”

“I’ll threaten him within an inch of his life if I have to.” Natasha promises. You wouldn’t honestly put it past her.

“And no inventions. This needs to go as normal as possible.” You add as Happy holds the elevator doors open for you.

“We’ll keep him out of the lab.” Bruce adds with a laugh. You run your hands over the skirt of your pastel pink dress, before walking into the elevator. The dress you chose for tonight is nicer than you’d normally choose for just dinner at home, but Astrid and Betty didn’t know the Tower was home, so you decided to at least put on a dress compared to the graphic t-shirt and shorts you had been wearing all day. This dress had buttons down the front, pleats, a collar, and a sash that tied around your waist. It was sleeveless, so you might get a bit cold, but Jarvis could always fix that if you did.

“It’s going to be alright. It’s just dinner with your friends and family.” Happy says from the other side of the elevator as the doors close.

“I don’t know if I’d call them family.” You say before asking Jarvis to take you down to the parking garage.

“They’d call you family.” Happy says before stepping off the elevator. You walk towards the black town car, thinking over the words he had said. Sure you were getting to know them all better and yes Tony was your biological father, but family? You’re not sure about that one. Happy opens the door for you to slide in. “Astrid or Betty first?”

“Betty is farther, so her first?” You suggest, before looking at your new phone you had gotten this morning. It was way too over the top, but seeing as it’s also top of the line, you can see why Tony would want you to be seen with it and not the phone you had for the past few years.

“Sounds like a plan.” Happy turns onto the street before looking towards you in the rear view mirror. “You want music?”

“Uh sure?”

“JARVIS can connect to your phone.”

“Jarvis is part of the car too?” You shouldn’t be surprised, but for some reason you find yourself surprised that he’s integrated into everything.

“He wouldn’t be Just A Rather Very Intelligent System if he wasn’t.”

“Wait, it's an acronym?” You ask, all this time just thinking it was a name like Wallace and Queenie are.

“Your dad is really into acronyms.” Happy gives you a small smile. “So music?” 

“Uh JARVIS, can you play my Spotify playlist?”

“Sure which playlist Miss Y/N? June? I Hate Life? Tony Stark Can Rot?-” You cut him off before he says anything else.

“Play June JARVIS.” You close your eyes not wanting to make eye contact with Happy after JARVIS just told your dad’s security that you have a playlist called Tony Stark Can Rot.

“Secrets safe with my Y/N.” Happy says from the front seat as Under Pressure by Queen starts playing. He drives towards I-495E. Happy knows in a little more than a week, they’re going to be driving this twice a day to take Y/N to Midtown School of Science and Technology. It’s an almost hour drive round trip but Tony was adamant with everyone that Y/N not be moved from the school that all of her friends were going too. Happy is surprised to hear a lot of familiar music play through your playlist that normally plays through Tony’s. You may not have been anywhere near him growing up, but at least he’d be proud that you listened to the classics. Pulling up in front of the brown stone that was programmed into the GPS, Happy sees a blonde girl waiting in front of the building looking up and down the street, probably expecting Y/N to walk up at any point in time. Instead you open the door and call out to your best friend.

“Betty!” Her eyes open wide and stare at you. But she climbs into the car before asking all her questions.

“Y/N, holy cow! You never spring for like yellow cabs, so why did you get a town car? We could have even easily taken the subway like we do when we head into Manhattan.”

“It’s a long story, but I’m not the one paying for the car. I promise everything will be explained but can we wait until Astrid is here? I don’t want to explain everything twice.”

“Sure, of course! Have you finished the essay yet for English?”

“No, I'm still finishing the book.”

“You haven’t finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn yet? Are you sick or something? You read faster than Astrid and I combined. Or did you spend more time on the science essay? Should I write more you think? I was thinking maybe I should do some more research about my favorite scientist. I mean there’s so much out there about Bruce Banner now since the whole Avenger saving New York thing. But I’ve already done two pages over what we're supposed to do. Who are you writing your paper on again?”

“Frederick Banting. Created insulin. Seemed important enough to get a paper about him.”

“Oh definitely. Look at Astrid’s dress, it is so cute! Not that yours isn’t!”

“It is cute.” You see your brunette friend waiting in a yellow sundress outside of her apartment building. You open the door, and see yet another surprised face at the town car. 

“Ok, a town car. We’re fancy now?” Astrid asks as she climbs in with you and Betty.

“Apparently we are.” Betty says, still not knowing why you were in a town car.

“There is a crash on your route, so with traffic the drive will take 35 minutes, Happy and Miss Y/N.” Betty and Astrid look up in concern, trying to figure out where the voice is coming from.

“Thank you JARVIS.” Happy says, turning onto a side street.

“Is Jarvis like a GPS that happens to know your name?” Astrid asks looking at you wearily.

“Kind of? He’s more like an AI.”

“Why does the town car, which you’re not paying for, have an AI that knows your name?” Betty asks, more concerned.

“So the car is my dad’s along with the AI.”

“Your dad?” Astrid and Betty both repeat. They both have known you long enough to know that Nana and Pops had stepped into the role of parents before you could walk or talk.

“But I thought you had no idea who your dad was?” Betty asks.

“I didn’t. Not until a couple days ago and it kind of came out of nowhere. Long story short, I’m living with him and his, uh, family now.”

“But still in New York right? Like you’re still going to school with us right?” Astrid asks.

You nod as you say, “Yes. I’m just living in Midtown now and Happy here is going to drive me to and from school now for safety reasons.”

“For safety reasons?” Astrid asks as Betty voices her own question.

“What is your dad like a big somebody?”

“Yes.”

“To which?” Betty asks.

“To both.” You shrug. You really,  _ really _ don’t want to say it. You beg the universe not to make you say it.

“Y/N, who is your dad?” The question you had been dreading leaves your friend’s mouth.

“Tony Stark.”

“Holy shit.”

“No way.”

“So you should win like every science fair that we have from here on out.”

“Science is still my least favorite subject.” You answer honestly. “Just because Tony is my father doesn’t change anything.”

“But you’re a Stark, that means like science flows through your blood.”

You motion towards Queenie, who’s clipped to your sash. “I think it’s like insulin. It’s supposed to but it doesn’t.”

“Wait, so if you’re taking us home for dinner, but your Nana and Pops won’t be there does that mean…” Betty trails off not wanting to jinx it.

“We’re going to the tower for dinner.” You confirm.

“Are the Avengers going to be there?” Astrid voices.

“I mean they live there and have eaten dinner with me every night so far.” You jokingly say. “And I figure they need to eat tonight too.”

“Hold on, I’m having dinner with Bruce Banner and you didn’t give me time to prep questions? This would have made my report so much better!” Betty’s head falls back to the headrest in defeat.

“Bett, I’m sure he’d be willing to answer anything you come up with. The Avengers are all really nice.”

“And Daddy Dearest?” Astrid asks.

“No comment.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“It’s not like he’s bad or anything. It’s just he came out of nowhere, took me from Nana and Pops’ and he doesn’t seem to understand that I can handle my diabetes on my own. He had JARVIS monitoring but like way higher than it needed to be. He had alerts set if I fell under 100 the other day.”

“You’ve known him how many days Y/N?” Betty asks.

“Three?”

“It’ll take some time. Plus once we’re back at school, you won’t have to spend as much time with him.”

“Thank god.” You say softly as Happy pulls the car into the tower’s garage. You know as soon as you get upstairs you’ll feel suffocated again, but your friends want to see the tower. So you tell JARVIS to take you upstairs. When you get to the living room though you’re surprised to only see one person waiting for you.

“Hi you must be Astrid, Betty. I’m Pepper.” The strawberry blonde standing in front of you turns to look at you suddenly and with a genuine smile on her face turns to look at you. “And you have to be Y/N. Tony hasn’t stopped talking about you since he found out about you. Which is a nice change of pace since he likes talking about himself if you haven’t found out, which I would find highly impossible. I can’t wait to get to know you through you though. I’m sorry we haven’t met until tonight. SI business has been all over the place with the transition and, well, everything.” She motions towards you. “But I’d like to take you out to maybe lunch or something where it’s just the two of us before you go back to school if you don’t mind?” This was not the reaction you were expecting from your father’s girlfriend. 

“Uh, sure. Yeah we can do that.” You push a lock of hair over your shoulder trying to distract yourself with the nervous habit of playing with your hair. 

“Great, I’ll give you my number before the night’s over and we can plan something.” She flashes you a huge smile. “Now Steve and Bruce are in the kitchen and I think Natasha is either distracting them or trying to keep Tony from sneaking down to the lab again. And Rhodey is just hanging out I think. I don’t know where Clint has snuck off too but he’ll reappear before dinner is on the table I’ll bet on it. Want to introduce your friends to them all?”

“I was going to take them up to my room but we could do passing introductions.” You agree, knowing that Betty will never let you hear the end of it if you don’t introduce her to Bruce sooner rather than later. “Kitchen is this way.” You motion for them to follow. As you walk into the kitchen there’s a booming laugh that you don’t recognize. Six pairs of eyes turn to fall upon you and your friends as you enter into the kitchen.

“Tonydaughter!” A large, muscled blonde man comes to scoop you into a hug. 

“Point Break maybe wait until she knows you to scoop her into a hug.” Tony calls from the other side of the kitchen, a glass filled with a dark liquid in his hand.

“Ha, midgardians are so funny. She will be a better friend of mine than you are.” This man that you have to assume is Thor based on how he talks and acts, sets you down though. Even though you weren’t expecting the hug, it did feel nice after so many days of not having much human contact. “Who are these?”

“I’m Betty Brant, your highness sir.”

“I’m Astrid Stollas.” Astrid does a bit of a curtsy, not sure how to act around the god.

“Brantdaughter and Stollasdaughter, there is no need for these Earthy customs. But we do need to feast.” He raises his fist as if to command it.

“It’s still cooking, Thor.” Steve says from the stove.

“Can you wait twenty minutes?” Bruce asks and Betty’s eyes go wide.

“Betty, Astrid,you met Thor, but meet Steve, Natasha, Rhodey, Tony, and-”

“I know who you are.” Betty cuts you off before you can introduce Bruce. Bruce goes a bit pale and you have a feeling you know where his mind went and not where her’s actually did.

“Yes, I know I’m the Hul-”

“You’re the most renowned scientist of the generation. They painted you into the mural at our school.”

“What?” Bruce looks at her in confusion.

“I just finished my seven page research paper on you.”

“Looks like Brucy has a fangirl.”

“And who are you again?” You ask Tony, determined to not let him ruin Bruce’s moment.

“I am Iron Man.”

“But you’re not in a mural at a school for science and technology. Clearly not important.” Pepper wraps an arm around Tony’s waist as his jaw drops. 

“Fix it.” He says to her.

“I’m not donating to your daughter’s school just so you can be in a mural.”

“But I want it.” Tony whines.

“Can’t have it.” Pepper throws back.

“Clearly unimportant.” You say with a shrug. “Astrid, Betty, do you want to see my room?”

“I’m good here.” Betty says, staring at Bruce. Astrid rolls her eyes and pulls Betty by the elbow towards where you are before following you up the stairs.

“She said I was unimportant.” Tony whines to Pepper.

“I think coming from a fourteen year old, you’ll be ok.”

“She’s not just any fourteen year old.” Tony says it and Pepper knows it's true. That girl is the only thing that Tony has talked about for the past four days. 

“At least she was joking with you tonight.” Natasha points out as she steals some of the veggies from Steve’s cutting board. “After yesterday, she could have done way worse.”

“And she introduced us to her best friends.” A smile rises to Tony’s face.

“She did say science is her least favorite subject.” Happy says from the living room and Tony’s face falls again.

“She what?”

“Nothing boss.” Happy takes the elevator to his own floor, leaving them with their own messes to deal with for the night.

“Why is she going to a science and technology school if she hates science?” Tony asks Pepper.

“You’ll have to ask her. Or, you could wait until she talks to you about school.” Pepper says.

“Wow Y/N. Half your books aren’t even here yet and you already have so many new ones.” Betty says looking at your shelves that Tony had built the other day.

“I think Tony thinks he can bribe his way into my life with buying books. But it won’t work.” Astrid is standing over by your desk and notices that your sticker covered laptop is plugged in charging but there are some dark data screens, waiting to be used.

“Did he make you a data-”

“I don’t know. I refuse to use as much of his tech as possible. The only one I have to use is the Stark Phone.”

“Y/N, he’s offering you the latest and greatest in Stark tech and you’re just throwing it away to stick it to the man? I would kill for half the tech you have, including the AI.”

“Well if you can find a way to take it, you’re welcome to have it. I don’t want most of it.”

“Because it’s from him or because it’s by him.”

“Both.” Astrid and Betty look at you in confusion. “I was perfectly happy with my life in Queens, living with Nana and Pops and he just came and took me away without any choice. Then he shoves all this tech in my hands and expects me to be elated over all of it. That’s not me. That’s not what I do.”

“Of course it’s not. You would live in the 18th century romance novels as long as you could still rep your LGBT letters.” Astrid says and you can’t help but roll your eyes. Before any of you can say anything else, JARVIS comes over head.

“Dinner is ready Miss Y/N.”

“Why does he call you Miss Y/N? Everyone else is just their names?” Betty asks.

“I don’t know. I guess he was programmed that way.”

“Jarvis?” Betty calls out.

“Yes?” 

“Can you call Y/N just Y/N?”

“Certainly.” She smirks at you as you roll your eyes.

“Come on, let’s get dinner over with.” You say rolling your eyes.

“It won’t be that bad.” Astrid promises as the three of you head towards your door. 

“You’ve yet to have dinner with the Avengers.” You mumble as you walk them down towards the kitchen. The three open spots are between Pepper and Bruce and you know that Betty will kill you and Astrid if she doesn’t get to sit next to her favorite scientist, so the three of you end up sitting with Betty next to Bruce, where she will probably talk his ear off all night, Astrid in between you and Betty, with Pepper on your right. Tony is sitting on her other side, so it’s not like you can just ignore your dad all through dinner, but you can sure try. 

“So you’re all going to be freshmen this year?” Pepper asks. It’s not a total surprise that she knows about your schooling since Natasha had mentioned that Tony had talked to her and Pepper about the situation. But hearing it actually come out of her mouth takes you by surprise. But Astrid saves the day in the end.

“Yup. We’re all starting at Midtown School of Science and Technology, much to Y/N’s chagrin. If we could go to a school where the focus is only reading and English instead, that would probably be her top choice.”

“Is English your favorite subject?” Pepper asks you and you nod, having just taken a bite of the pasta in front of you. 

“It’s always been her favorite subject. If Betty hadn’t made her put her book down the first day I met them, I don’t think I would have gotten a word out of her. But then again, Harry Potter is addictive, so it makes sense.” You shoot Astrid a look, for spilling all the beans about you.

“Tony mentioned you were a reader. Something about his cards are buying more fiction then they probably ever have.” Pepper’s hand pats his as she throws a smile in his direction. “That’s probably a good thing. Some people in this place could take some breaks for reading every now and then.”

“That’s unfair. I do read.” Tony almost whines from next to her.

“Something other than manuals and physics books?” Pepper teases. Maybe this is what Natasha meant by she doesn’t put up with Tony’s shit? She calls him out on things? You can’t help but think to yourself as you watch the interaction. Her attention turns back to you. “What are you reading right now?”

“Once and Always.” Tony says as you give your own answer.

“For school or for fun?” Then you turn and look at him. “No, I’m not. I finished that like two days ago.”

“You weren’t even halfway done with it.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” You shrug.

“How about both?” Pepper asks, returning to your question.

“I have to finish A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and write an essay on it before the end of the first week of school, so I’m working on that. And for fun, I just started Love, Simon. And I’m loving it.”

“What’s Love, Simon about?” Pepper seems genuinely interested, but do you tell her the plot and possibly out yourself in front of the all of the Avengers? Especially when some of them like Steve had lived in a time when being bi was really not ok?

“It’s a contemporary of sorts. It’s kind of better to go into it not knowing a lot.” You decide to skimp on explanations and play it safe.

“Well if it you end up enjoying it all the way through, let me know. I’m always looking for a good next read.” Pepper says with a smile.

“Uh sure.” You’re almost surprised that she’s interested in what you’re reading. Nana and Pops always supported you reading whatever you wanted, but they had their own genres to read. 

“What do you think of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn?” Steve asks from across the table.

“Boring.” Astrid says with a smirk. “I skimmed enough of it to write my paper.”

“I like the writing style. That’s why I’m taking my time with it.” You admit. “If I really wanted to, I could sit down and finish it in a couple hours. It reminds me of my first time reading To Kill A Mockingbird.”

“If you like those you should give The Secret Lives of Bees and The Poisonwood Bible a try.” Steve suggests before taking a bite of his own plate of pasta.

“You’re just suggesting those because you love those. If she’s a reader she should go with some of the real classics. War and Peace. Anna Karenina. Real Russian novels.” Natasha suggests with her fork enunciating her words. Betty and Astrid can’t help but laugh. All the Avengers turn to look at the teenagers, who seem to be laughing at one of the world’s deadliest assassins. Astrid tries to stifle her giggles, but Betty falls silent.

“Sorry Miss Widow, it’s just Y/N has already read both and loved them. But she read them back a couple of years ago and the school got mad at her for not reading at grade level.” Tony turns to look at you.

“You got in trouble for reading a big Russian novel in middle school?”

“Elementary school.” You correct him. “They didn’t think a 1200 word novel was the right reading experience for a fifth grader.”

“Yeah I’m never going to doubt she’s Tony’s kid.” Clint says before stuffing some pasta in his mouth.

“You read War and Peace at ten?” Natasha asks. You think about it for a moment and then nod. 

“Yeah and followed with Anna Karenina, A Confession, The Death of Ivan Ilych, and Resurrection. I went through a Leo Tolstoy phase at that point.” Your eyes drop to your plate as everyone else’s eyes are on you. You push some of the veggies around your plate.

“Our teacher, Mr. Balton, hated it because he couldn’t get mad at Y/N because she was still getting all of her work done and she had the highest grades in our class. Even tried to say she was a distraction to the rest of the class, but when she’s just silently reading, he doesn’t have any pull. He even threw her book across the classroom one day, because he was pissed that she was reading so far above her grade level. And instead of exploding at him, Y/N stood up, walked across the room, picked up the book, sat back down, flipped it back open to where she was and started reading again.”

“Your teacher threw your book?”

“He wasn’t the greatest. It was public school.” You shrug, as Astrid had just explained one of the roughest school years of your life. Mr. Balton tried to make your life a living hell. 

“I’m going to find him and-” Tony mutters.

“He got fired.” Betty adds. “He had issues with a lot of the students and was very prone to throwing things.” Betty pauses, and you can almost hear the story she’s not telling. Your head pops up and you catch her eyes. “Anyway…” She turns to change the subject.

“Betty you’re not going to tell the story that got him fired?” Astrid says around a mouthful of pasta and your hand flies over her mouth. 

“I don’t think we need to share that story.”

“I think we definitely do.” Tony’s voice comes from the other side of Pepper, firm and less teasing than other nights at dinner. 

“Betty, why don’t you tell us about your science paper?” You suggest, knowing that if Tony hears the story, someone will blow a gasket. Most likely him. It shows how badly the public schooling system was, and Pops and Nana had already blown a fuse over it. You didn’t need Tony Stark getting upset over something that happened four years ago.

“I’m more interested in learning about what got your teacher fired.” Tony repeats. “Astrid?”

“I’m good Mr. Stark. I don’t think I was even there the day it happened.” Astrid says before pushing some pasta into her mouth.

“Betty?”

“I’m not even sure which incident you’re talking about sir.” If anything, your two best friends would have your back no matter what. The rest of the table has gone silent. Tony could go into a rage over things that had happened last week. They all had suspicions based on the fact that you wouldn’t let your friends tell the story. If it was something from four years ago that you were worried about him losing it over, you probably had good reason to be worried.

“Y/N?”

“Tony?”

“How did your teacher get fired.” His words come out harsh.

“Why do you really want to know?” You challenge.

“I think you know exactly why I want to know.”

“Tony, is now really the time?” Pepper asks, a hand draping over his.

“Pep-”

“Fine, you really want to know. This is why.” You pull your hair back to show a six inch scar that is hidden by your hair normally.

“What the hell is that.”

“That is what happens when someone throws scissors across a classroom at your head.”

“He threw scissors? At your head?” Tony’s words are spoken through a clenched jaw.

“He did. And had you been there, you could have joined Nana and Pops in their outrage. But four years ago you were off doing your own thing. So… moving on.” You lift your fork to your lips as the rest of the room barely breathes.

“Why?” Tony’s words are almost silent.

“Why what?”

“Why did he throw scissors at you?”

“Because I was reading. I was reading Resurrection and he said no kid my age should be reading a 500 page book while there are kids who could barely do their multiplication tables. And he wanted to make his point. And the closest thing to him was a pair of scissors.”

“I’ll make sure he can never teach again.”

“He can’t. At least not in the state of New York. I doubt anywhere else either. He assaulted a minor. That goes on like police record shit.” 

“I should have been there.”

“You didn’t know.” You try to be more mature than you feel in this moment. “You are now. Next time something happens. You’ll be there, I hope.”

“I will.” His arm wraps around Pepper to grasp your shoulder. “I’m here for you from now on.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” Tony’s voice is painted with the smile he wears as Pepper walks into the living room.

“You saw me two days ago.”

“Two days too long.” He says before kissing her cheek. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“That’s because this is just a stop. I’m not staying. I’m picking up Y/N.”

“You’re taking Y/N…?” He trails off in confusion.

“We’re going to get mani/pedis, do some back to school clothes shopping, and maybe get dinner. I want to get to know your daughter better.”

“She seems fine with hanging out with everyone except me.” Tony says dejectedly. 

“You’re an acquired taste.” Pepper teases before placing a quick kiss on his lips. “Give her time. She hasn’t had even a week of having a father yet.” 

“What time will you be back?” He asks, already knowing that he’ll have to fill his afternoon by himself.

“Six or seven maybe?” Tony glances at the Stark Phone that he’s actually started carrying with him now that it’s more personal. Natasha had snapped a picture of Y/N at, apparently, your favorite place in the whole city, which looks like a big book store. You’re not even looking at the camera, you’re carrying a ton of books and yet reaching for another one, but you’re smiling which is more than he can say for the past few days. When Natasha sent it to him, he immediately made it his background and lock screen. It may not have been a week, but you’re definitely becoming his world. “I’m going to see if she’s ready to go.”

You take one last look in the mirror, trying to decide if this is the outfit you want to be seen out in the world with famous Pepper Potts. Maybe you should change and dress up, but you’d rather be comfortable if you’re being honest. So instead of a dress or a romper, you’re in a pair of ripped denim shorts, a Rolling Stones t-shirt that you found at a thrift store a few months ago for so cheap but it’s in such good condition, and tie dyed high tops. You had thrown your hair into a ponytail with a red scrunchy only because the humidity was too much today. There’s a knock on the door. “Come in.” Jerk It Out by Caesars is playing over JARVIS, but he turns it down as Pepper walks into your room. You are in the middle of putting on the heart shaped pendant that Nana had given you for your thirteenth birthday as Pepper stands across your room.

“You ready to head out?” You glance back at the mirror once more time as you see Pepper in a red cocktail length dress.

“Do I need to dress up?” You ask, suddenly worried that your shorts and t-shirt won’t cut it in Pepper’s world.

“Honestly no. I probably should change. I came from a business lunch at this overly posh restaurant. If you’re good waiting like five minutes, I’ll go change.”

“Yeah I’ll be fine.” You grab a bag from your pile of bags, throw your wallet, a testing kit and then wander down to the kitchen to grab some low snacks.

“Rolling Stones?” Tony asks in mock surprise. “Couldn’t wear something like AC/DC or Black Sabbath? Have some taste if you’re really my daughter.”

“If you’re having doubts, I’ll go home to Nana and Pops.” You say as you throw the applesauce pouches in your purse.

“Nope. Not happening. I’ll forgive your subpar music taste, but we’ll get working on music education soon.” You just roll your eyes. You weren’t going to admit to him that you already listen to AC/DC a good chunk of the time and when in the right mood you listened to Black Sabbath.

“Y/N Miss Potts wants to know if you want her to grab you a pair of sandals for your pedicure.” JARVIS asks.

“I’ll grab a pair.” Turning to make your way back up the stairs, you walk back into your room. Grabbing the first pair of sandals you see. As you walk out your door, you see Pepper walking towards you in a loose white top, denim shorts, and a pair of sandals. “That’s the most laid back I think I’ve ever seen you.” 

“That’s because you see me coming from SI most of the time and I have to dress up for that. But we’re going for comfy and casual now.” She smiles at you. “Did your dad see your shirt?”

“And give me crap for my subpar music taste? Yeah.”

“I had a feeling he might.” 

“That’s why he’s not invited.” Pepper laughs.

“It’s not because we’re going shopping and for mani/pedis which he would be miserable at anyway?”

“That too. But still, if he hates on the Stones, he’s not invited.” Pepper lets out another laugh as the two of you walk back into the kitchen. 

“What joke did I miss out on this time?” Tony asks.

“You had to be there.” You say instead of explaining. 

“It’s nothing.” Pepper says, leaning over to place a kiss on his lips. 

“I can’t tell if you’re corrupting her or the other way around.” Tony says as the two of you walk towards the elevator. “Maybe I should come along for supervision.”

“Bye Tony.” Pepper says, rolling her eyes before telling JARVIS to take them down to the garage. “So where do you normally go for back to school shopping?”

“Well we never had a ton of money, so Nana and I usually hit up the thrift stores. But I find great deals like this,” You motion to your shirt. “Four bucks and it’s basically brand new. Well as brand new as an old shirt can be.”

“Where are your favorite shops?” 

“We’d go to Buffalo Exchange if we were looking for more like dresses and stuff. Like that one I wore to dinner I got at the Buffalo Exchange on the lower East Side. But there’s also a handful of good mom and pop thrift shops in Queens and Brooklyn if you’d rather head over that way. Bayside Thrift Shop is a good one in Queens or there’s Out of the Closet in Brooklyn.”

“Which one do you have better luck at?” Pepper asks as they walk to where Happy is waiting for them.

“I’ve always had great luck at Bayside.”

“So lets start there and then we can head to Buffalo Exchange before mani/pedis.” Pepper suggests. 

“Where are we heading?” Happy asks as you and Pepper slide into the backseat. 

“Bayside Thrift Shop in Queens.” Pepper turns to you. “Want to put some music on while we drive over?”

“Really?” 

“Nothing you put on can be worse than what Tony puts on when he’s in a bad mood.” She says with a smile. 

“Um ok. JARVIS can you play my June playlist?” You ask before he can list that you have a playlist called Tony Stark Can Rot. For some reason you feel like she wouldn’t like that as much.

“Certainly Y/N.” The first notes of Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses start to play and you relax into the seat. If you had headphones in, it would feel like all the times that you, Betty, and Astrid had gone between Queens and the main island during the summer. The biggest difference was you weren’t crammed into the humid subway car and sitting to your right was your dad’s girlfriend, who was the farthest from the evil stepmother character from the thousands of books you read growing up. In fact she is sweet and kind, someone you could find yourself loving easily. 

You turn your head towards the window and focus on the passing sights of NYC as you head towards the area you had lived your whole life. You could point out the hospital you had been born at if you turned down the right streets. If you went up a few blocks you would pass your elementary school, your middle school, and the school you’d be starting at in a little over a week. Your whole life up until a few days ago centered on this area of New York. That bodega was the first one you had been able to run to on your own and that’s the street you take to go the back way to Betty’s old apartment. “Missing home?” Pepper asks, seeing you staring out the window with longing.

“This place is all I knew for the longest time. I spent more time in Queens than I did in Manhattan.” You say with a shrug, not wanting to sound ungrateful, but you miss home. 

“You’ve gone through a lot this week. It’s ok to miss it.” Pepper’s hand rests on yours and gives it a little squeeze. “Queens can always be home, even if you’re living in Midtown.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever give Queens up.”

“Even when I’m in Malibu, I miss New York like crazy. It’s definitely home.” You listen to what Pepper’s saying as Happy turns the familiar path to head towards your favorite thrift store. He pulls into a lot across the way from the thrift store before getting out to open the door for you and Pepper. “Now, will you show me your favorite thrift shop?” Pepper asks.

“Easily. This place is meant to be shared.” You can’t help but smile as the three of you cross the street.

“What do you like the best about Bayside?”

“They tend to have a lot of graphic tees. Both of like the band variety but also just like sassy variety. And I could live in tees if I didn’t have to wear other clothes sometimes.” You admit as you open the door and hear the familiar chime. You see Anita at the counter as you walk in.

“Y/N! We thought we were going to miss you for back to school shopping.”

“Never! I have to come to Bayside.” You say, being completely honest.

“Where’s your Nana?”

“I brought my… Pepper this time.” You say motioning to your dad’s girlfriend, but not knowing how to introduce her.

“Well any friend of Y/N is a friend of ours. We thought you might be coming by, so I set a few things aside that you might be interested in.” Anita reaches behind the counter and pulls a stack of about four t-shirts out. Pepper watches as your face lights up. “We just got them in.” You lift the top couple up to look at the bottom couple. 

“These are awesome!” The black and grey shirts look similar to things that Tony would wear, but Pepper keeps that to herself. 

“I’ve got them. You keep looking.” Happy says as he takes the shirts from your hands.

“Happy, I can carry them-”

“It’s clothes, they’re not heavy. I’ve got it.” 

“Thank you Happy.” Pepper trails a couple steps behind you as you finger through the shirts handing. The first to get pulled off the rack is a Nirvana shirt with a yellow smiley face on it. Then a blue tie dyed Pink Floyd 1973 tour shirt follows it. 

“That’s one your dad can’t even try to say he was at. Three year olds weren’t allowed.” You roll your eyes, but you can’t help but smile at Pepper’s comment. You find another more classic looking Pink Floyd shirt hanging on the rack a few shirts back that you add to your pile. 

“If I had been wearing that would he have said I had better music choices?”

“Probably. He’s just judgmental when it comes to music.”

“The Stones are classics!” You argue as your hands run through the racks to fall on a Sweet Child O’ Mine Shirt. “Oh this one is a winner.” It has a faded look to it and you love that in your shirts.

“Definitely so.” Pepper takes it from the rack and hands it to Happy. “To be fair to all your tastes, I think this one is needed though,” she says pulling another Rolling Stones shirt from the rack and you smile at it.

“They are my favorite.”

“Tony would die if he heard that.” You shrug. “Wanna try these on?” Pepper motions towards the pile that Happy is holding.

“Sure.” But then an Eagles Hotel California Tour 1977 shirt catches your eye. “One more for the road.” You say before snagging the shirt. You try on the shirts you had found before getting to the stack that Anita had put aside for you. You look at the four finally. The first was a grey Pink Floyd 1972 Carnegie Hall T-shirt?! Holy Shit! Your mind might explode. Then there’s a black Aerosmith shirt with a boombox with wings that says ‘Let the Music Do The Talking’ which is such a big mood. Underneath that one there’s a black Nirvana Unplugged in NYC shirt which you have been looking for forever since you love that album. And last but not least there’s a classic looking Guns N’ Roses printed on black shirt in a gold font. Anita knows you well. Four of your favorite bands and to be honest four of your new favorite shirts. So far all of the shirts fit pretty well, or even fall on the large side which is how you like your t-shirts. 

Pepper knocks on the fitting room door. “I found a couple things I think you’d like Y/N.” You open the door wearing the Guns N’ Roses shirt. “Oh I like that one.”

“Really?” You’re surprised that Pepper would be into band shirts.

“You think I could date your father and not be into what he considers some of the greatest musicians of our time?” Pepper smiles at you. “But also gold is just a good color for you and your skin tone.”

“I’m not going to be Iron Man at any point.”

“Wouldn’t want you to be. However I did grab these shirts because I think your dad’s reactions will be worth it.” You look at them and laugh. 

“He’ll never let me leave the tower wearing them.”

“So wear them around the tower to bug him.” You close the door and try on the two shirts. The first is a tank top that you probably never would have looked at had all of this not happened. But Pepper was right. Tony would react to it, hopefully. Across the black fabric printed in white the shirt reads ‘I’m A Female’. Then in pink it reads ‘Fe = Iron, Male = Man” before finishing in white ‘Therefore I Am Iron Man’. You open the door to show Pepper.

“If I walked into the kitchen one day wearing this telling him I was going on a run, how much of a heart attack would I give him?” Pepper doesn’t have a chance to answer before Happy does.

“He will lock you in the tower. And possibly never let you leave.” Happy states, knowing how protective Tony is even after only knowing this kid for a few days. 

“Worth it.” You and Pepper say with a teasing grin.

“Can I take a picture? That might be my favorite shirt so far.” Pepper asks. You nod and then, shocking even yourself, you throw your hand out in the standard Iron Man pose and Pepper snaps the photo. “I love it.” You smile and turn back into the dressing room before the flush takes over your face at the affection from your dad’s girlfriend. You shake your head, pushing the thoughts that want to invade your mind out of your head as you lift the last shirt up to change into it. 

This one is grey and in white letters say ‘Screw Your “Lab Safety” I Want Superpowers”. Your dad was going to hate it for sure, knowing so many scientifically modified people. But you love it. Plus it’s so comfy. You roll the sleeves a bit and then open the door to show Pepper and Happy.

“He’s going to hate that one as well.” Happy says the moment he sees it.

“Or he’ll laugh and say show it to Steve.” Pepper says, cocking her head to one side. “Either way, we’re getting it.” In your head you know you shouldn’t buy all the shirts that you tried on, but even if you let Pepper pay for the two that she found, the remaining ones should only come up to about thirty dollars, and you think you have that much in your wallet. You collect all the clothes in the dressing room, which Happy immediately takes from you, and you follow Pepper and him towards check out when your eyes fall on the most beautiful jean jacket you’ve ever seen. 

It was a medium wash jacket, that had been loved just enough that it was no longer stiff. It had some wear and tear in some spots, but it was loose enough that it would sit perfectly on you. You have to try it on. Pepper sees you debating about the jacket, but can’t figure out why you’re debating. “It’s a gorgeous jacket. Try it on.” You take it off the hanger, gently as if it was a child instead of a jacket, and slip it over your shoulders. Rolling the cuffs up a couple times so it didn’t hang over your hands you look down at the jacket, loving that it hits an inch or two below where your shorts do. “Now that is how a jean jacket should fit.” Pepper says, smiling that you found something you clearly loved on this trip. You slide it off your shoulders and the price catches your eyes. Yes, thrifting can be great, but the jacket is still fifty dollars even at the thrift store. You don’t have that much. 

“I don’t need it.” You say, not wanting to bring up that you can’t afford it even if you did need it.

“I’m not taking no for an answer on that. A jacket that looks that perfect on you has to come home with you.” She places her hands gently on it and lifts it from your hands. 

“Pepper, really I don’t-”

“Tony can afford it and it needs a good home.” Then it hits you, Pepper’s not going to make- no let you pay for any of this.

“You found many things today.” Anita says looking at the pile Happy and Pepper had made on the counter. “This is going to look the best on you.” She places a hand on the jacket that Pepper had added. 

“She pulls it off like no one else.” Pepper agrees. Anita and Pepper chat about the weather and honestly you’re not sure what else because you just watch as the number climbs. You’ve been coming here for years and never seen the number go that high. Your heart falls into your gut when the jacket gets added. Looking in your purse, you know you have about forty dollars to your name and that wouldn’t cover even half of that right now. But Pepper hands over a black card, similar to the one that Natasha used the other day, and doesn’t even stop the conversation. It’s like this money thing doesn’t even bother her. But it definitely bothers you. Anita puts the clothes into a cloth bag and hands it to you. 

“Thanks Anita.” You smile at her, but you don’t know when you’ll be back. All you’ll remember now is feeling uncomfortable for spending Tony’s money here. Happy opens the door and you follow Pepper out of the shop. Pepper is trying to make small talk but notices you looking nowhere but the ground. She takes the bag from you and hands it to Happy. 

“Can you put this in the car?” 

“But-”

“Five minutes?” She says. And technically, Pepper is his boss, so Happy nods.

“I’ll be right across the street.” She smiles as he walks across the street. 

“So wanna talk about it?” She asks, bumping shoulders with you.

“Talk about what?”

“Why the ground is so interesting?” Pepper takes a pause trying to give you a chance to speak. “Or maybe about why you went so quiet in one of your favorite places?” Normally, you’d just keep it to yourself but for some reason, you don’t think Pepper will judge you.

“We, uh didn’t have a ton of money growing up. Whatever money we did have went to making sure we could afford rent and my insulin and making sure that there was food on the table. So once I was about eleven, some of the other people in our building would let me run errands for them or watch their younger kids and they would pay me some pocket money for doing it. And that pocket money I saved in a jar throughout the year so that once I could go back to school shopping and twice a year I could buy Nana and Pops something nice from Christmas and their birthdays. We didn’t really celebrate many holidays, but the ones we did we celebrated really small. Santa would bring me clothes while my friends would get touchpads and toys and I didn’t question it because I knew that while their families didn’t have to worry about whether or not you were going to have to choose between buying medicine you needed to live or putting food on the table.

But Nana and Pops tried to make it so I didn’t feel that. So when I got the chance to go to The Strand or Bayside, it wasn’t picking everything that caught your eye because I was the one paying for it. So I would buy one or two books or shirts because I couldn’t afford to spend all that money if I wanted to buy Christmas presents too.” You play with Queenie’s tubing, not wanting to look Pepper in the eyes as you continue. “But in the past three days, Natasha, Tony, you, whoever, have made it clear that Tony’s made of money and that he’s fine with spending it on books, phones, clothes, whatever he or anyone else wants. But there are people out there that aren’t that fortunate. 

The money that Natasha spent buying me books the other day could have paid for my Nana’s medicine for a month. Or how much you just spent on clothing for me could have bought me clothing for the whole school year and bought Nana and Pops Christmas presents. Hell I looked up how much my new phone cost Tony and it could have paid for four months of insulin. That’s sixteen vials. But more importantly that’s nearly 1500 dollars. And I bet if I lost it, he would have a new one waiting for me.” Pepper lets you continue the rant, and doesn’t let you know that he added more upgrades to your phone than the baseline one that does indeed cost as much as your medicine does. But what she would rather talk about is why does your insulin cost that much? “You guys might not care about money, but it makes me sick every time that you drop this money on me. I’m not worth it.”

“First of all, you are definitely worth it and so much more. Tony has money just wasting away in the bank and likes to waste it on the people he loves. That means he’s going to drop money on you. But coming from the lifestyle you grew up in, it’s going to take some getting used to. Plus in his mind, he has fourteen years of Christmas presents and birthdays to make up for.” Pepper watches as your eyes go wide and knows that this might be the wrong thing to say. “But Tony is also up for doing things for charity. So maybe you can come up with an initiative that he can throw money towards for you. Like maybe fighting to lower the cost of insulin for others? Because while it’s not a problem now for you to afford it, why should it cost so much for others? Tony would definitely like to fight that. And that is something that SI can also get behind as well.” You look up for the first time since finding the jean jacket back in the shop.

“Really? SI would get behind something like that?” You ask, not understanding why a tech company would get behind something like the cost of insulin.

“Tony wants to look into manufacturing things to make diabetics' lives easier, which I told him he needs to talk to you about before doing anything. But your name is part of the company. You’re a Stark now. So anything that SI does, takes an interest in what you have an interest in. So yes, the cost of insulin is something that SI will fight for too. Help me do some research on who to support and we can start the battle as one of your first introductions to the world as Tony’s daughter?” You nod, knowing this is something you’ve always wanted to help with but never had the power to do anything about. 

“Thank you.” You say, before doing something without thinking- you throw your arms around her. Her arms wrap around you, but she’s not sure what she’s being thanked for. 

“What for?”

“Listening. Being here. Being human?” You say, joking about the last one, but it feels right.

“Of course. I don’t know how to be anything else.” She says and pulls on your ponytail a bit. “Now you want to show us around your neighborhood a bit before we head back to Manhattan?”

“You want to see it?” You ask, surprised that Pepper wants to see Queens.

“It’s part of what makes you you, so yes.” Happy finishes crossing the street to be back with the two of you.

“There’s a really great coffee shop up this way. Or if we go down this way there’s an amazing sandwich shop called Delmar’s. Oh and Pops goes to play chess at this park down that way.” You point out three different ways. 

“Coffee sounds like a plan.” Pepper says. You drop your arms, not wanting to hold on to her longer than you’re allowed to but Pepper keeps an arm around your shoulder as you walk towards the coffee shop you love. It was always a treat when you got to go, but the smell alone was something you had missed. They make all their syrups from scratch and you could spend all day there reading if you were allowed. 

As you walk, you point out the book shop where you sold the books you were done with to make some extra money, the apartment building that you, Nana, and Pops lived until there was a rat infestation, and the bodega that you used to go to to stock up on low supplies. You wave to some people that you know by face alone and smile at the feeling of being home. It feels nice to share this world with Pepper, and almost makes you wish Tony was here to show him what home feels like to you. It’s not throwing money around on things you don’t need. It’s the feeling of the sun on your skin as you walk around the streets you’ve known all your life.

At the coffee shop, Pepper buys you and Happy coffee, yours iced and his hot, as well as an iced tea for herself. “So I was thinking, we could go to Buffalo Exchange to try and find you some bottoms to go with the shirts we found for you, or maybe a dress or two? That way you have some clothes until the rest of your stuff gets moved from Queens?” You don’t say anything, but you know she’s right. You only have a few more sets of outfits and half of them aren’t appropriate for school. You force yourself to take a sip of your coffee as you nod your head. “We don’t have to Y/N. We can hold off.”

“No, we should. I don’t have that much stuff left at the tower and some of it is more wear at home type stuff.”

“Do you want to make a stop at your Nana and Pops house and get some more stuff?” Pepper asks.

“Can I?” You miss your Nana and Pops so much it hurts.

“Of course. Tony isn’t trying to keep you from them. And we’re already in the area.” You can’t stop the grin from exploding on your face. You know that Nana and Pops won’t have much more baggage you can put stuff in though so you turn to Marcie, who’s working at the counter. 

“Hey Marcie, do you guys have any boxes that you haven’t broken down yet?”

“Actually yeah. We got shipments in this morning of some stuff. What size are you looking for?”

“Big enough to put some clothes and stuff in.”

“Ah moving apartments again?” Marcie had helped you with boxes when the rat situation happened. “Rats again?”

“Not rats, but something like that.” You say with a teasing smile. She walks to the back and grabs the couple bigger ones.

“Will these work?”

“Those are perfect!”

“You can have them on the condition that you still come and get coffee occasionally.”

“Deal! I’m going to go to MSST so I’ll still come by!”

“Then the boxes are all yours.” She hands them to you and Happy offers to take them from you. Marcie looks at him with confusion but you wave it off.

“Thanks Marcie!” You say before returning to the table where Pepper sits.

“I’ll bring the car up,” Happy says. “Be back in five minutes.” 

“Thanks Happy.” Pepper says as Happy takes the boxes with him as he leaves the shop.

“You seem to know all the people at your favorite shops.” Pepper comments.

“New York is more like a small town when you think about it. We all go to the same businesses over and over again. Why shouldn’t we know the people who’s shops we frequent?” You shrug. “Plus Marcie is the best person to get boxes from when you have to move buildings. Then you don’t have to pay for them.” Pepper and you both drink your cold beverages as you sit waiting for Happy. 

“Have you ever traveled anywhere?” Pepper asks, wanting to get to know you better. You shake your head.

“I’ve uh never left New York. We never really had the money.” You glance out the window. “I don’t even have a state ID, much less a passport.”

“Well we can get you an ID sweetheart, that’s easy. And knowing your dad, he’ll want to get you a passport since deciding to take last minute trips is one of his favorite things. But if you could go anywhere, where would you want to go?”

“You’re not going to like plan a trip, right? Because you’ve spent plenty-”

“Y/N, I just want to get to know you. Now if Tony asks you, I would answer on the bet that he wants to take you wherever you answer.” 

“The kid in me wants to say Disney World because who doesn’t want to go. But I think the actual answer would be the Grand Canyon. I’ve always wanted to see if it’s as big as it looks in pictures. And the third choice would be London. So many writers lived there and I want to see what inspires them to write the way they do.” You look back at your coffee. “I’m not the best at picking just one place.”

“Never said you had too.” Pepper says, trying to catch your eyes. “I think all three are wonderful ideas. Maybe we should go there, but leave Tony at home to finish the deadlines he never touches.” You look up at her with surprised eyes. “Ok, maybe he can finish them before the trips and then come along because if I steal his kid for that long, I’ll never hear the end of it. He might take my job away for stealing you for that long, if it didn’t mean he would have to start doing work again.”

“Really?”

“You’re all he talks about these days. And I don’t see that stopping anytime soon. He’s not someone that’s easy to get to know. And I would say he’s definitely an acquired taste, but once he’s in your corner, having Tony Stark have your back is sometimes greater than having Iron Man. I hope you get to learn that. Because I know he desperately wants to show you how much he already loves you.”

“But he barely knows me.”

“There’s this thing about being a parent, so I’ve heard, where you love your kid so much from the moment they enter your life. That’s how he feels, and how he’s felt about you since the moment he saw you for the first time. Every night since you entered his life he said to me ‘God Pep, I didn’t know I could love a kid so much.’ And I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.”

“But I’ve kind of treated him like garbage?”

“And you think you’re the first teenager to ever say things to their parents like that? You have a better excuse than most though. Most aren’t thrust into having parents as late into life as you were, but you’re dealing with a lot. Most people also aren’t dealing with having Tony as a father. I give you props for that alone.”

“You’re the one dating him.”

“Yes but that’s different.” Happy pulls up outside the coffee shop. “Come on. We have all the time in the world to debate who has it worse in regards to Tony.” Pepper teases you. You turn and wave to Marcie.

“Bye Marcie!”

“Good luck with the move!” She waves before returning to the order she’s in the middle of taking. You follow Pepper towards the car and climb into the backseat. Happy drives you towards the apartment he had taken-picked you up from less than a week from. 

“Would you feel more comfortable if I stay in the car?” Pepper asks as you pull up and Happy puts the car in park. If it was Tony, yes. But you like Pepper. You want her to see the place that you think of as home so you shake your head. 

“Plus I want you to meet my Nana and Pops.” You swing the door open before Happy even has a chance to open the door for you. You’re too excited to see Nana and Pops. Usually you would just run up the six flights of stairs to the apartment, but you’re not going to subject Pepper and Happy to that just because you don’t want to wait for the slow elevator. So instead you bounce on the balls of your feet as you wait for the elevator. If not for your fear of elevators dropping, you would have continued bouncing the rest of the way up. But finally,  _ finally _ , the elevator arrives and you count the three doors as you pass towards home. It’s weird to not have your key so you knock on the door. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” You hear your Pops voice and you could almost cry. He opens the door and you don’t wait a moment before flying into his arms. “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He pulls you away to say something, probably like ‘there’s no way you’re my granddaughter. You’ve gotten too big,’ but you push against his arms to wrap your arms around him again. “I’m right here. Not going anywhere. I got you.”

“Who’s at the door Lou?” Your Nana calls and it sounds just like coming home now.

“It’s me Nana.” You say even though the sound is muffled by your Pops’ chest. 

“Is that you babydoll? What are you doing here?” Your Nana rounds the corner and then you're out of your Pops’ arms and into her’s.

“We’re sorry to just surprise you. But we were in the area and Y/N has been missing you.”

“Never apologize for bringing her ho- to visit.” Your Pops voice is a little rougher than normal. “You must be Pepper Potts.”

“Yes, nice to meet you. And this is Happy, or um Harold Hogan, our head of security.” In the back of your mind you place the fact that Happy’s real name is Harold of all things, but right now you’re too focused on the fact that you’re home. “Y/N also needs to get a few more clothes and things so Happy has some boxes for her to put some stuff in.”

“That’s fine. She’s always welcome to come and get things. This may not be as fancy as where she lives now, but it will never stop being her home.” Pops voice rings out and Pepper can feel that he’s not welcoming them in like he welcomes you. 

“Pepper, will you come help me get the stuff in my room?” You ask. You know Pops probably isn’t happy with the way things are working out either, but leaving Happy, he can at least go over the security plan or something. Leaving Pepper seems just mean after how nice she’s been to you today.

“Sure honey.” Pepper smiles at you. She follows you down the hallway to the door where your name is printed in block letters on a piece of computer paper. “I like this.”

“Thanks, Betty made it for me.” You pull it off the door. “Do you think I can hang it on my door at the Tower?” Pepper nods.

“If you want to, I don’t see why you can’t.” You open the door and Pepper follows you into the room that is about a quarter of the size of your room at the Tower, yet feels more at home than the Tower. “So what is coming with this time?” Pepper knows that at least with most of the books and if you want any of the furniture, they are going to have to get a few men to move it. 

“I’m thinking mostly clothing and maybe some of my books. Not all of them, but at least a few of them. Oh and there’s a blanket I’ve been missing.” You walk over to the dresser in the corner and open the bottom two drawers, which are filled with mostly distressed jeans and shorts. “All of these.” You say with a laugh.

“How about I work on putting those in this box while you get the blanket and pick out some books?” Pepper suggests. You shrug, it sounds like a good enough plan. Walking over to your shelf, you have to stop yourself from calling out to JARVIS to ask him to put on music and instead pull your phone and put on your playlist instead. Have you really gotten that used to living at the tower? Before you can get to the shelf, you spy the quilt you want sticking out from the under bed boxes. 

You pull it out and hold it close. Part of you wants to unwrap it and drape it around your shoulders, but you know that you’d be wasting precious time doing that. So instead you trace your fingers over the different triangles of fabric. Pepper looks up and sees what you’re looking at. “Is this the blanket you were missing?” You nod and she comes to take a seat next to you on the twin bed that you grew up in. “It’s beautiful. Was it handmade?” Pepper asks, but doesn’t make a move to touch it since it’s clearly special to you.

“My, uh, mom made it.” With everything that has happened in the last week, Pepper hasn’t actually heard anything about your mom besides Tony talking about how your mom was a one night stand. “She was in a recovery program the first three months after I was born to try and get her recovered. Alcohol and drugs. Part of her recovery was making this quilt. Something to focus on as she went through withdrawal. It’s part of the reason I was placed with my grandparents. I was born two and a half months early and addicted to crack. So she wasn’t that fit of a parent. But they hoped that with rehab she would get better and come home. It, um, didn’t work like they hoped. She relapsed and they found her on the streets six months later dead of an overdose.” You don’t look up as you trace your favorite triangle, the peach colored one. “This is the only thing I have of her. I’d like to think she made it for me, but I think I know deep down, she only made it because the program made her.”

“She would have been lucky to know you.” Pepper says, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

“But she didn’t so…” You trail off. “But I have Nana and Pops. And I have Tony now. And I guess you and the Avengers too.”

“You got bonus family galore.” Pepper holds you close. “I got you and I’m not letting go.” She whispers into your hair as she places a kiss there.

“Thanks Pepper.” You lean into her side, before placing the quilt into the box at your feet. “I’m glad you got me.” You admit. 

It doesn’t take much longer to pack up the clothes and books you want from the room you love. There’s still other things you’ll need to come back for, but you can do that another day. You have the things you need to get you through at least the beginning of school. Before you know it, Happy is taking the boxes down to the car and you’re wrapped up in your grandparents’ arms once again. “You’re welcome anytime babygirl. You have your key for that reason.” Your Nana says into your hair. 

“I know Nana.”

“And if you need a break, you come on over. Being Stark’s daughter isn’t the end all be all.” Pops’ voice is aimed more at Pepper than at you, but you nod. 

“I know Pop.” You kiss both their cheeks. “I love you both. So much.”

“We love you too babygirl. Always have, always will.” Your Nana runs a hand through your hair. “Get going. You probably have big fancy plans for the day.”

“Still the same girl you know.” You say as you walk towards where Pepper stands. You follow her towards the door, but take one more look at your grandparents before you both start making your way downstairs. As you get outside, Pepper looks at you.

“Do you want to do more thrifting and mani/pedis or you want to call it a day? You still have next weekend? We can always do more back to school stuff then.”

“Do you mind if we don’t? I’m kind of exhausted.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I did. Plus we can order food to the Tower and maybe watch a movie or something instead. Calm night instead.”

“That sounds awesome.” You say as Happy starts the drive back to the Tower. Going back to Manhattan took a little longer than normal, just because of the time of day. You scroll through social media, trying to take in your last day as Y/N Y/L/N. Tomorrow the news breaks about you being Tony’s daughter, so you’ll take the calm before the storm. Pepper is reading over things on her own phone, probably SI stuff if you had to guess. “Pepper?”

“Mmm-hmm?” She answers as she scrolls.

“Will the explosion from the news tomorrow be bad?” You ask before adding. “Like you dealt with when Tony announced he was Iron Man. Will this be that bad you think?” Pepper puts down her phone and looks at you.

“I don’t think this will be bad news. I think there will be questions, but that’s why SI has been putting together a lot of Press Packets for different situations. If the press tries to spin it in different ways, we will be ready. The most important thing we have stated in all of this, is that while Tony didn’t know about you until recently, he is very happy to be your father and he is doing everything in his power to provide the best home for you.” Pepper pauses looking for signs from you on which way you were feeling. “For now, how you feel about everything is going to stay silent because of your age and such, but eventually, if you feel up for it, we’d love to publish something about you and your dad together.”

“Why about me?”

“Because the public will want to know, but also because you are one day possibly going to be a face of SI. If that’s the path you wish to take. Again this isn’t a decision you have to make anytime soon. Right now, the focus is keeping you out of the press as much as possible.” Happy pulls into the garage as Pepper says all of this. “But I think the public is just going to be interested in learning about who you are because you are an extension of Tony and they like knowing about him.”

“I can understand that. But I don’t even feel like I know him all that well yet.”

“You will in time. I promise.” Pepper says as she walks with you towards the elevator you had left only a few hours earlier. You had grabbed the clothes from Bayside, but Happy said he would get the boxes and take them to your room for you. Upon arriving to the living room, Tony is surprisingly waiting for you and Pepper.

“My two favorite ladies, back already.”

“Finished early. Figured we could do a night in instead.” Pepper explains as Tony gives her a kiss on the cheek.

“Did you have a good day kiddo?” Tony looks towards you and you nod before turning to Pepper.

“Thanks Pepper.” You say before giving her a quick hug. “I had a lot of fun today.” 

“Of course. I had fun with you too.” Pepper’s arms wrap around you, squeezing you back. And for a moment you can’t help but wonder if this is what it feels like to have a mom. Yours was out of your life moments after you were born. You let yourself relax in her arms for a moment before you feel Tony’s eyes on the two of you. 

“Uh, I should go put these things away.” You pull away from Pepper and make your way towards your room, canvas bags in tow without saying anything to Tony.

“It’s not fair Pep.”

“What?”

“She hugs you.” Tony whines as he plops down on the couch. “All she does for me is make playlists called Tony Stark Can Rot. How is that fair?”

“Now how would you know what her playlists are called?”

“I asked JARVIS to play some of her music so I could know more about her since she refuses to hang out with me. He asked which playlist and started listing them. To be fair it has some great music on it. But still, I would never make a playlist called Y/N Stark Can Rot.”

“You don’t name your playlists.” Pepper points out.

“Not the point.”

“The point is you're jealous that she’s closing herself off to you.”

“Maybe I am. She’s my kid. I want to know her. I want to do everything for her and with her. But everything I try backfires.”

“So don’t try so hard.” Tony’s brows pull together as he looks up at Pepper. “You suggested her friends coming over for dinner and that worked really well.”

“Yeah worked really well in that she told me about a teacher that hated her enough to throw scissors at her.”

“She also acknowledged that you’re going to be here for her from now on. That’s a success. So try doing small things like that. Don’t make huge gestures. Don’t you dare buy her a gigantic bunny. Try to let her get to know you. And don’t try to buy your way into her life. She hates that.”

“You literally took her shopping today.”

“We went thrifting.”

“What? All of that needs to be washed immediately!” Tony starts freaking out.

“This right here?” Pepper motions towards him, “This is the kind of reaction that will push her farther away. She loves thrift shops. She told me and we went to her favorite ones to look for clothes. She opened up about her life before us Tony. That picture on your phone. That’s a moment she shared with Natasha. You need to give her a moment to open up to you.” Tony notices Happy walking by with a couple of boxes. 

“What all did you buy her today?” 

“We stopped by her grandparents’ house so she could pick up some more stuff. She mentioned she was getting low on some stuff.” Pepper motions towards what Happy is carrying. “She really misses them. I think we need to give her time to see them too.”

“I’m not keeping her from them.”

“I’m not saying you are. I’m saying I think we should schedule times so she doesn’t feel that way. Also I told her that SI would start a charity fund to fight the cost of insulin.”

“Not against that but why?”

“She was feeling really uncomfortable about how comfortable we all spend on a day to day, based on her background with money.” Pepper says, not really explaining.

“That tells me less than nothing.”

“It’s her story to share. You’ll have to wait until she wants to share it with you.” Pepper kisses his cheek. “But you have an amazing kid.”

“I know that. I just want to know her like all of you know her.” Tony says frustrated. 

“Give her time.”


	5. Chapter 5

It took a few weeks to get used to living in the tower and you wouldn’t say you and Tony were close, but the other Avengers were helping make things normal for you. The one thing you weren’t getting used to was having FRIDAY now yelling out your blood sugars instead of JARVIS due to the whole Ultron thing. Pepper threatened to take you from Tony for that one, but that fight is a story for another time. It was the angriest you’ve seen Pepper ever get and hopefully, you don’t have to see that again any time soon.

“Y/N is 63 and dropping. Predicted urgent low in 20 minutes.” FRIDAY’s voice comes over the speaker as Natasha, Steve, Clint, and you are watching Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

“FRIDAY, I got it.” You push up from the couch to walk to the kitchen, but watch the walls shift ever so slightly as you try to walk. 

“You stay, I’ll get you something. What do you want? Juice? Cookies? Soda?” Steve stands from his seat at the end of the sofa.

“Juice.” You say. If you didn’t have hypo-unawareness, you would have felt this before you got so low, but you had bolused for all that good pasta Steve had made and must have made an opps when bolusing for it. Steve returns after a few moments with an apple juice box as well as a packet of graham crackers. You look at them puzzled, but take them with shaking hands.

“FRIDAY said urgent low in 20 minutes. That sounds like it needs more than just a juice box.” You don’t say anything but shrug your shoulders as you try to get the stupid straw into the juice box as your hands continue to shake. 

“I got it.” Clint says as he pulls the juice box out of your hands. With a quick stab, the straw is in the box and he hands it back to you. “Perfect aim over here.”

“Whatever you say.” You mumble before sipping on your juice. To be honest, apple juice just hits differently when you’re low. You turn your attention back to the movie as you sip on the juice, but you don’t want to eat. You’re full from the pasta you ate not even an hour ago. So as the movie keeps playing, your eyes stop focusing on it, everything gets a bit blurrier. You rest your head on Natasha’s shoulder, hoping everything will clear up as you drink your juice. 

“Y/N? I think you should eat these,” Steve’s voice sounds so far away.

“I don’t want to.” You mumble, turning more into Natasha’s shoulder, feeling sleep pull you in.

“Y/N?” Natasha, Steve, and Clint have stopped watching the movie at this point since you stopped responding. “FRIDAY what’s her sugars?”

“LOW Captain.”

“Call Tony.” Tony is at an SI meeting, but if he doesn’t hear about this, he will call any and all Iron Man Marks he has to fight them all. Reaching into the drawer in the table, Steve pulls out a blood sugar testing kit. Tony has stocked the house with them so that you are never more than a few feet away from them. Once you moved in, Tony also made sure that all the Avengers knew how to test your blood sugar manually. “Y/N I’m going to test you ok?” Steve asks, betting he won’t get a reply. Before he can, you start shaking and pulling away from Natasha. 

“Steve, I think she’s having a seizure.” Clint says as Natasha and him roll you to your side, laying you flat on the couch. Steve helps to steady you, before testing your sugars. 

“What is going on?” Tony’s voice comes over the speakers, knowing for any of them to interrupt him, it has to be important- meaning Avengers related or you related. 

“Y/N is low. Very low.”

“How low?” The meter in Steve’s hand beeps.

“16.”

“16?”

“She’s having another seizure.” Clint says.

“Are we sure it’s another? It might be the same one?” Natasha asks and regrets it.

“Another?” In the background they can hear thrusters and they know that Iron Man/ your dad will be here soon. “You need her glucagon. There should be one in the living room, her bedroom, her backpack, and the med bay. It’s a red square, or well rectangle.” Out of the corner of her eye Natasha sees Tony land on the balcony and walk towards the living room. “Do you have it?”

“This?” Steve holds up the box. Tony takes it from his hand.

“Turn her to her side.” Tony says as he pulls the needle and pushes all the liquid into the vial. He stirs it together before drawing all of the liquid back into the syringe. “I got you bambina.” He whispers as he plunges the needle into your thigh.

Time passes slowly. Tony keeps checking and the number goes up slowly. 25. 40. 55. They had moved you to the med bay and Dr. Cho had checked over you, gave you some IV fluids and oxygen, but said that apart from rest and monitoring your blood sugar, there’s not much she can do. She did administer a bit more glucose through your IV since you haven’t come above 70 yet. You’ve been in and out of consciousness so Tony doesn’t expect you to remember anything of what you’ve said previously, especially since most of it made little sense.

“Where ‘m I?” you mumble as Tony does another blood sugar check.

“Med bay.” 92. Finally a good number.

“What happened?”

“You scared the shit out of me. I get what’s a good number now.” You look at him with confused eyes.

“What happened?” you repeat.

“You dropped to 16. Had a seizure or two. Passed out. Been here for a few hours. You’re finally in range again kiddo.”

“16? New record low.” you say.

Tony ignores that comment. “Might have taken a few years off my heart.” Tony admits.

“Thought you were supposed to be gone all weekend,” you say, not commenting on what he said. You mess with the knitted blanket that is covering your legs, not looking at Tony as the words sit in the air.

“My kid was in danger, SI can handle themselves. Promised you I’d be here from now on remember?” Tony says with a shrug. You look up at him, hearing the words he said. You were starting to think of him as more than just Tony over the past weeks when he had to go deal with Iron Man stuff. But tonight he left stuff for you. Because your blood sugar tanked. That’s like something Nana and Pops used to do for you. It’s something family does for each other. 

“Is Pepper mad that you left?” You fidget with the IV in your arm. It’s not the first time you’ve had one and it probably won’t be the last time.

“How can I be mad at him when I left moments after him?” Pepper peeks into the room.

“But you’re the CEO?” Pepper walks from the door towards your bed.

“You’re more important. My assistant is taking care of everything that he can and everything he can’t will get postponed until later. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to focus until I saw you were ok.”

“Is it just because I’m the heir to SI?” You can’t help but voice the dark thought in your mind.

“Of course not.” Pepper says as she sits on the edge of your bed, taking your IV-less hand in hers. “I happen to care about you an awful lot. It doesn’t matter to me one bit that you’re supposed to take SI or not. I would be here.” Tony moves to sit on the opposite side from where Pepper sits.

“I know the circumstances of how everything happened wasn’t the best Y/N, but I love you a lot. And I would drop anything and everything for you.”

“Really?”

“I’m your dad. A dad does anything for his kid.” Tony wants to reach out and take your hand like Pepper did, but he’s not sure if he’s allowed to, he doesn’t want to push too far too fast. But you reach for him instead.

“I’m not good at having a dad. At having parents.” You say honestly looking at both Tony and Pepper as you say this, hoping she doesn’t mind that you’re including her in this statement. “I had Nana and Pops sure. But that’s different.”

“I’m not the best at having a kid either, but I’m going to try my very best at it.” Tony admits. “How about we try this thing together?” He asks. “As a family?” He tacks on looking towards Pepper too.

“I’d like that.” You admit. “But only if Pepper stays to keep you reigned in. Because I can’t handle you on your own.” Tony laughs at that.

“Pepper’s here to stay if I have my way.” He says. “You and Pep. You're my family. Well and Platypus. And the Avengers. Only because they wrestled their way in.”

“I think I can settle for that right now.” You admit. “At least the you and Pepper part.”

“Still figuring out the lay of the land with the Avengers?” Tony asks.

“You jump from having almost no family to being told that you can have all of the superheroes in the world as your family and see how you do.” You roll your eyes.

Pepper squeezes your hand. “Take whatever family you feel is right. We’ll all be by your side when you need it the most.” All three of you sit there quietly for a few minutes before you realize something.

“No!” 

“What?” Tony’s eyes are searching the room for a threat he can’t find.

“I missed the end of the movie!” Your voice comes out closer to a whine then you mean for it to. Tony’s hand rises to his heart trying to calm it back down.

“You were all watching a DVD. You can rewatch it later. Please give me 24 hours before you scare me again please. My heart can only take so many scares in one day.”

“You’ve got some visitors if you’re feeling up to it?” A voice comes from the doorway. You look up and see Steve, Clint, and Natasha looking in towards you.

“Sorry I ruined movie night.”

“If you think we’re here to make you apologize, you’re dead wrong.” Clint says.

“I think Clint is here to see your eyes do work without rolling into the back of your head.” Natasha throws out as she sits in the chair across from your bed.

“I thought you would think that was cool?” You ask, seeing as Clint is usually the one looking for things that are creepy but over the top.

“Not when it comes to someone’s kid. I got kids of my own. I never want to see that from you again kid. You got it?” Clint crosses his arms as he stands behind Natasha. “That was the scariest moment of babysitting I’ve ever had, and I’ve lived through two kids going through their toddler phases.”

“As long as I get the award…” 

“Don’t even try.” Tony cuts you off. “I second Clint’s statement. Seeing your eyes go into the back of your head was not something I ever want to see again either so lets make that a thing on the ground rules of not allowed.”

“To be fair, I’m the one who’s food she gave insulin for-” Steve starts and you stop him before the words are even out.

“Don’t try to blame yourself. It’s very Captain America and all. But I can literally give the same bolus for the same food two days in a row and get two very different results. Diabetes just doesn’t give a shit. It does what it wants. So if you want to blame someone, blame my pancreas for being a shit team player and quitting back twelve years ago. The whole point of having Wallace is to try and catch this before it happens, but sometimes it still happens. It’s shit but that’s life.” You explain, and everyone’s eyes fall on you. 

“How are you so calm about all of this?” Clint asks.

“Because it’s not the first time I’ve ended up in a hospital bed due to diabetes. And it’s not the first time it’s tried to kill me. Being diabetic, you come to terms that you’re playing with fire and you’re going to get burned. But as long as you don’t die, then the day is a success. Sometimes there may be more losses than wins, but you keep going. It’s something you come to terms with when you have a disease that isn’t going away because there’s no cure. You’re forced to come to terms with it.”

“Can I ask how many times you’ve been hospitalized because of it?” Natasha asks, looking up at you with a deep expression.

“Counting this? Uh….” You count in your head. “Let’s see. There was my diagnosis. I was this close,” You hold your fingers inches apart, “from falling into a coma from my sugars being too high. Then I got the stomach flu when I was six. Nothing would stay down, but my ketones went sky high. Next I got an infected pump site. Normally I would just take some Advil and hope it goes away but this one got bad. Was in the hospital for three days, on antibiotic drips. Then I spent my seventh birthday in the ICU with the flu. That was a blast. Ketones out the wazzoo. I just had no immune system. Then I got strep five times and had to get my tonsils out, but they were worried about infections and ketones and such, so they kept me in the hospital for a week. Eight and nine I lucked out and was only in the hospital once, for a really wonky pump site that shot me into the 900s. Luckily I was only in the ER for that one. Ten through thirteen, I was in the hospital every like six months it felt like with bad blood sugars. Fell into a coma twice. And it took like three weeks to come out of it. So that was a total blast. Missed a lot of school. And this year I have lucked out and only been in the hospital once besides this. Stomach flu, tried to get me again. On day two of nothing staying down, Nana took me to the ER. So… Thirteen? Oh wait, fourteen counting today. Wait does today count? I guess it does since I got an IV.”

“The medbay is like Tony’s private hospital so it’s essentially a hospital so it counts.” Natasha says with a nod.

“Ok, so fourteen times because of diabetes related stuff. But I also had three other nondiabetes times too.” All eyes are on you. You should have just skipped it, because now you’ll just have to explain it. “I broke my arm in first grade because a kid bet me I couldn’t walk across the top of the monkey bars. I made it all the way across but then slipped and fell at the end. Still he had to give me his GI Joe, so who’s the real winner? The incident in fifth grade. And then took a bet that I wouldn’t walk across the Brooklyn Bridge barefoot. Stepped on a nail. Had to get stitches.” You shrug.

“Hmmm, funny she sounds just like someone else who is stupid enough to take dares or I don’t know invite war criminals to their front door.” Pepper says looking at Tony.

“To be fair, you can’t blame that on me, because I was never there to tell her that taking bets is never the right way to go unless you know you’re going to win them.” Tony says with a smile. 

“Technically, I won both bets. I got injured after both were over.” You brag.

“That’s my girl.” Pepper rolls her eyes.

“Why do I feel like I’m going to be chasing more trouble now?”

“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Natasha says from across the room with a smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Your dad made you take a few days off after the low blood sugar incident, so by the next Monday you are so ready to get back to school. Science and technology might not be your favorite topics, however MSST is great and it means you get to see your friends. Betty and Astrid are waiting for you when Happy drops you off on Monday. Pepper rode with you, because your choice was having her come with you or having Tony and you were not dealing with Tony Stark outside of your school again… The first day of school drama was enough of kids trying to get close enough to take pictures of him. But your dad was adamant that he wasn’t going to miss your first day. You shake the memory from your mind as Pepper gives you a hug. “If you need anything, you call me or Tony. Or Happy if you can’t reach us. Even if-”

“I’ll be fine. I could have come back last week and be fine. Dr. Cho said so.” You say with a smile. But you wrap your arms around Pepper and give her one more hug. “I love you.” You whisper and feel a little guilty that you said it to your dad’s girlfriend before you said it to your dad, but it felt right.

“I love you too.” Pepper says back. “Happy will be here for you when school finishes.” You turn to get out of the car when Pepper calls, “Lunch!” handing you the lunch box you almost forgot. 

“Thanks Pepper! See you at dinner.” Ever since the conversation in the Med Bay, Pepper had been trying to make it home in time for dinner so that you, Tony and Pepper felt more like a family. Sure it had only been like five day, but it still was something you enjoyed on top of having the Avengers there when they weren’t on missions. You shut the door behind you and turned to be enveloped in a hug between your two best friends. “Guys I’m fine.”

“You missed almost an entire week because of a diabetic seizure. We’re allowed to be worried.” Betty states. It’s not the first time that diabetes has pulled you from school and Betty gets worried every time.

“I know, but I’m fine. Tony overreacted by making me stay home. Dr. Cho said I could have come back Wednesday, but Tony had me stay home the rest of the week because and I quote ‘I’m your dad I’m allowed to worry.’”

“STARK OVER HERE!” The paparazzi don’t know your first name, but they know the school you attend and have seen you out with Pepper and Tony in the few weeks since everything has been announced. 

“Let’s get inside.” You say, not even looking towards the paps. Betty and Astrid follow you up the stairs and into MSST. You have a feeling that there will at least be a picture of Pepper dropping you off at school if not more on some gossip page. It’s not even that interesting. You go to school every day. Although, most days Tony or Pepper don’t come with you so maybe that’s why it’s interesting?

“Y/N watch out.” Betty’s warning comes too late. You crash into one of the most handsome people you’ve ever seen.

“Shit! I’m sorry!” You exclaim, expecting to hit the tile of the hallway.

“My fault. I should have been looking where I was walking.” Arms wrap around you to keep you from hitting the floor.

“Penis Parker crashing into Iron Man’s daughter. Now you’ll have all the Avengers after you!” A boy who you think is called Flash calls from across the hallway. The boy whose arms are around you takes a second look at you after hearing what Flash said.

“You’re Y/N Stark?”

“Fraid so.” You say scrunching your face ever so slightly. “I’m hoping your first name isn’t actually Penis though?”

“Peter. Peter Parker.” His face goes red as he helps stand you back up on your red converse feet.

“Well it was nice running into you Peter. Hopefully we don’t do that again soon though.”

“Your dad might sue me for damaging a Stark and I can’t afford that.” You can’t help but laugh at that.

“Yeah he might try, but I’d get Pepper to stop him before it got too crazy. Bye Peter.” You don’t wait for a response as you turn to follow Betty and Astrid towards your lockers. “What do we know about Peter Parker?” You ask Betty as you walk, knowing that if anyone knows anything it will be Betty.

“He’s a Sophomore. On the Decathlon team with Liz. I think he’s also in band and he’s on the robotic team.” Liz was one of the few upperclassmen Betty knew from one of the clubs she was in. You had sat with her at lunch thanks to Betty but you didn’t know how to feel about her. “You should ask Liz about him. See what she knows if you're interested in him.” Betty says with a smile. “Maybe Y/N can find a date to Homecoming.” She tosses to Astrid.

“Like Tony Stark will let me out of the house for Homecoming with anyone of the opposite gender? Doubtful. I’ll have better luck going with a girl or with a group of friends.” You say as you spin your locker combination. You dump your backpack and pull the books you need for the first half of the day. 

“I think you could convince him. But if you don’t want to we can always pull a group together. It’ll be fun! It’s our first Homecoming!” Betty grabs her own books as she goes on about potential plans.

“It’s not even for another few months, so we have time.” Astrid says from a few lockers down. Betty and you turn to head towards your English class as Astrid heads off to her French class. Before you get inside your phone pings with a notification about the Avengers. Lagos? What are they doing there? You scroll through the news articles trying to understand what’s going on, but your teacher tells you to put your phone away. You open your computer to take notes and open your text stream with your dad, which is more bare than most people would think a text stream with Iron Man would be. 

**Y: What is happening in Lagos?**

**T: Nothing that I know about right now. You’re in class. Focus on class.**

Of course the one time you need him to tell you things he pulls the dad card of telling you to focus on class. Pepper won’t have information you need and the other Avengers are across the world at the moment apparently. Tony only responded because FRIDAY is part of his suit too. So now instead of being able to focus on being back at school for the first time in almost a week, you wished you were home still so you could talk to your dad and see what the actual fuck was happening.

By the time you got to lunch, everyone in the school it seems are aware that something is happening with the Avengers and everyone wants to hear from you. But you don’t have the patience to deal with anyone, except for trying to get an answer from your father.

“Y/N, now’s not really a good time.”

“Make time.” You say shortly. “Explain what’s going on. Because I have news reports and high schoolers telling me what’s going on or expecting me to explain to them what’s happening and I don’t know what the fuck is happening.”

“Well I’m in the middle of dealing with the government and possible rogue Avengers so I think my problems trump yours at this point in time kiddo.”

“Rogue Avengers?” Your voice drops as you turn the corner, trying to get away from ears that are trying to hear too much.

“I promise I will talk with you about everything when you get home, but right now I need to focus on Avengers stuff and you need to focus on school. Just give a no comment to the school kids. You’re not an Avenger, so they shouldn’t be expecting answers for you about what your dad is doing.”

“Fine, but I’m expecting answers tonight.”

“I know. Hey kiddo. I love you, no matter what else is going on. Just know that ok?” Your voice chokes up, as if he knows you told Pepper first. “You don’t have to say it back, I just… there was shit today that made me think that I need you to know that ok?” You bite your lip for a second before biting a bullet and just going for it.

“I love you too… Dad.” There’s silence on the other end for a moment and you think the call has dropped before Tony continues as if nothing happened.

“I’ll see you after school. Happy will pick you up. Go with him ok?” 

“Of course.” The call ends and you're more confused than when it started. Making your way over to where Betty and Liz as well as a few of Liz’s friends are sitting, they look at you when you sit down. 

“Everything ok?” Betty asks.

“Oh yeah, Dad wanted to know how my numbers were doing cuz of last week.” Everyone sat looking like they were waiting for more. “Wait, you guys thought he would tell me what’s going on in Avenger-land? No. He barely tells me what we’re having for dinner.” You force out a semi real sounding laugh and Betty joins it. 

“He honestly doesn’t share that much with you. So Liz, how’s planning for Homecoming going?” You tune out the rest of the prattle as you look at some info on your phone, but something non Avengers related catches your eye. A video of a superhero called Spider-Man? Catching a car with his bare hands. It’s impressive. And it seems like something that Dad should be aware of especially if things are going to shit right now. So you send him the video, not thinking anything about it. 

By the end of the day though, when you and Happy walk into an empty tower, you start thinking more about the issues your dad mentioned. “Happy have you seen Dad all day?” Happy tries to control his emotions at hearing you call Tony Dad. 

“He’s been Iron Man most of the day. Hasn’t needed a driver. He did say he has to go deal with something. But I am to stay here with you until he gets back he said.”

“So you’re my baby-sitter?”

“I prefer the term companion?” Happy suggests.

“Where are the rest of the Avengers? Like I’d at least imagine Wanda, Vision, Clint, and Natasha to be here?” Usually the group of them were around when you got home from school, but today the tower seems rather empty. 

“I think Wanda and Vision are upstate. Natasha too. Clint might have gone home.” You always seem to forget that Clint has an actual home and family. You shoot a text to Natasha asking where she is, but don’t expect to hear anything if she’s off doing actual business stuff. As you slide the Stark Phone back into your pocket, you wander up towards your room to dump your backpack. After kicking off your shoes, you think about asking if Happy will take you to the Avenger’s Compound since there’s no one here, but you know your dad wants to keep you as close to the city as possible. 

So instead of putting off your homework you decide to get started on it. The tower is too quiet and it puts you on edge. Usually there is at least a handful of Avengers making noise or your dad tinkering around or something. But it’s too damn quiet. “FRIDAY, play Tony Stark Can Rot.” You maybe should change the name of your playlist, but right now you’re too focused on putting something on to make the Tower less quiet.

Finally, after spending way too long on your essay that’s due next week, you trod down to the kitchen. You can count on one hand the number of times you’ve had to make yourself food since you moved into the Tower. Steve likes cooking. You guessed it felt the most like being at home to him. But it meant you never really had to make food unless you got hungry at weird times. But making dinner tonight was weird for multiple reasons. First of all, none of the Avengers were here. It’s not the weirdest of things, but definitely made your top ten. Second, and most weird since the talk you had had, was that neither Tony or Pepper were here. Could you manage on your own? Sure. But it definitely counted as the weirdest thing since you all were trying to make more family time. 

You sat down at the empty kitchen table with a veggie patty and some French fries. Not the fanciest dinner, but as a dinner for one, it would work. You try scrolling through Twitter to find out more about the Lagos thing, but most of it seems like news from over a month ago, so why is it being brought up again? There’s even some Sokovia news being brought up but that’s even older. You close out Twitter and text Pepper.

**Y: When are you coming home?**

**P: probably late. Caught up with a lot of SI stuff. Sorry I missed dinner. Love you.**

You want to text your dad, but at this point, he’s already missed dinner too. He’s probably off doing Iron Man stuff. So instead, you just throw some music on from your phone and eat your dinner. When you’re done you put your plate in the sink and make your way back up to your room. You have biology readings, Intro to Calc notes to revise, and English readings for tomorrow to still do and you could start on your German studying if you want to get ahead. 

It’s close to midnight when there’s a knock on your door, softly almost like it doesn’t want to be heard. “Hey,” Pepper says softly when she sees you're still up. “Shouldn’t you be heading to bed?”

“Finishing up the last bits of homework. Did you just get home?” She nods but makes her way into your room to sit down on your bed. You turn in your desk chair to face her. “Long day?”

“Super long. How was school?”

“Fine, boring, too long.”

“You miss a week and that’s all the catch up I get?”

“Everyone was going on and on about this Lagos stuff which I don’t get why it’s being brought up again and Dad wouldn’t tell me anything.” Pepper’s head tilts to the left ever so slightly.

“He doesn’t always talk about what’s going on inside his head. But come on, you missed a whole week of school and there was no drama that you can catch me up on?”

“Well it’s not really drama but I literally ran into a boy today.”

“Bumps and bruises from it?”

You shake your head. “No he caught me before I could fall. He’s kind of cute though.”

“And what did we learn about him after that, because doesn’t Betty know everything?”

“Well his name is Peter. He’s a sophomore. He’s in Decathalon with Liz, who we sit with at lunch, and Betty said she’s pretty sure he’s in band and robotic team too.”

“Well I hope to learn more about this Peter kid. Maybe you’ll have to ask him-”

“I’m not asking him to anything. It’s my first year at this school and I’m already too much news by being Tony Stark's daughter. Literally some other kid teased him when he crashed into me saying that Dad was going to send all the other Avengers after him for bumping into me and then when I said I hope we don’t literally run into each other again he said something along the lines of ‘your dad might sue me for damaging a Stark and I can’t afford that’. And he’s not far off from the truth.”

“We wouldn’t let your dad go that crazy.” Pepper reassures you. “Now, it’s late and you have school in the morning, get to bed.”

“Is Dad not home?”

“He had that MIT thing this morning and I think he was going upstate to deal with some Avenger stuff this afternoon. He may stay at the compound tonight.”

“Oh.” He didn’t mention any of that to you. And you’re somewhat disappointed that he didn’t.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a bit in this chapter that comes from Captain America Civil War. However there is added dialog so don't skip over that section. The dialog I borrowed from the movie does not belong to me. Belongs to Marvel and all the typical things. Enjoy.

Normally you don’t check Twitter notifications during class, however one of the three that pop up caught your eye. 

**EXPLOSION IN VIENNA HALTS SOKOVIA ACCORDS**

**WAKANDA KING T’CHAKA AMONG DEAD**

**NATASHA ROMONAFF ALIVE AFTER SOKOVIA ACCORDS BOMBING**

Your phone is in your hand instantly and you're standing from your seat. Your English teacher, Mrs. Leighton is shocked to see you disregarding the fact that you’re supposed to be doing a timed writing. “Miss Stark, take your seat please.”

“I have a… medical emergency. I need to go get more insulin from the nurse.”

“Alright, I’ll write you a pass.” You want to run out the door, but not everything can be fixed by the fact that you’re a Stark now. Once you have the pass in hand, you walk out into the hallway and turn into the stairwell before punching Natasha’s number into your phone. 

“Y/N, I’m fine.”

“I had to find out from Twitter?”

“I was going to text you later. There was no reason to freak you out over nothing.”

“Was my dad there?” You ask, after not seeing last night and this morning.

“No. He was at the compound last I saw him. Planning on heading back to the tower in the morning.”

“What is going on?” You ask.

“Y/N, there’s a lot I can’t tell you right now. Focus on school and I’ll see you as soon as I’m Stateside again.”

“Nat-” The phone hangs up before you can get another word out. “Ugh. Fucking superheroes.” You swear under your breath before shoving your phone back into your pocket.

“Y/N, right?” You look up to find brown eyes looking back at you in concern.

“Yeah. Parker right?” He nods. He’s holding a clipboard that’s painted to say hall pass in bright letters.

“Peter,” he reminds you, like you have forgotten. “Everything alright?” He asks looking at you with concern.

“Not really, but I’ll manage.”

“You wanna talk about it, because according to my friend Ned, I’m really great at listening?”

“How much time are you allowed to be out on that hall pass?” 

“I’m in woodshop. Mr. Wallman didn’t even notice I took it. What about you?”

“I’m supposed to be at the nurse getting more insulin, so I have as much time as I need.” You say with a smirk. But Peter’s face falls.

“Do you need to get to the nurse? I can walk you there.” You shake your head.

“I don’t actually need to go. There’s an issue when your family is all superheroes that you tend to worry when their name pops up alongside building explosions and stuff.”

“Is your dad ok?”

“It wasn’t my dad this time. One of the other Avengers. She’s fine. But I wasn’t going to believe it until I heard it for myself. So I used a medical excuse to get out of class so I could call her. I feel like ever since I gained all the Avengers as family, all I do is worry I’m going to lose them. Like they’re superheroes they can protect themselves and stuff-”

“But you worry. I completely understand.” Peter says and you look at him in disbelief. “I mean, I would completely understand if I was in your shoes but I’m not. I’m just saying I empathize with you.”

“I appreciate it.” You can’t help but smile at his rambling. It’s cute.

“Can I ask you something I wonder about you?”

“I’ve never used the Iron Man suit if that’s the question.” It wouldn’t be the first time someone asked about the suit you’ve never even seen.

“No, it’s… it wasn’t that. Is it like the best living with two of the greatest scientists alive?”

“Bruce and my dad?” You clarify and he nods. “I mean, I’ve only lived with them for a while and Bruce is off world right now maybe? That’s our guess at least. But my dad….” You pause and think how to explain your dad to someone who doesn’t know him and you realize you don’t even know him that well. “He’s a tinkerer. He spends a lot of time in his lab. But science is like my least favorite subject so anything he does is pretty much lost on me. Goes over my head for the most part.”

“Your dad is Tony Stark and science is your least favorite subject?” Peter asks in shock. 

“The apple falls far from the tree I guess.” You shrug and glance at your phone. “I should probably get back before Leighton thinks I left to google the timed writing.”

“You’ll do fine.”

“It’s English. Of course I will.” You flash a smile at him. “Thanks for listening though.”

“Any time.” You really hope he means that. Because you could spend so much time talking with Peter Parker.

Peter watches as the only Stark he’ll probably ever meet walks away. There’s something about this girl that is different. Even though you had been freaking out moments before he stopped to talk to you, he wasn’t going to tell you he had heard you muttering ‘Ugh. Fucking superheroes’, but you definitely weren’t the person people thought you were supposed to be. When it was announced the week before school started that not only did Tony Stark have a daughter but that you were going to be attending MSST, he kind of expected an outspoken, over the top personality like the Tony Stark he had seen on TV many times before. But you weren’t like that. You are different from the personality that TV Tony Stark had. You are down to earth, you are open, and Peter wants to know more about you. However when Tony Stark appears in his apartment later that day, Peter isn’t planning on voicing any of his thoughts about said daughter. 

“I definitely did not apply for your grant...”

“Ah-Ah! Me first. Okay! Quick question of the rhetorical variety.” He pulls up a video on his Stark Phone that plays it out. “That’s you right?”

“Um, no. What- what do you mean?”

“Yeah, look at you go. Wow! Nice catch. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That’s not easy. You got mad skills.”

“That’s all on YouTube though, right? That’s where you found that?”

“That’s where someone found it.” Tony mumbles, not revealing who actually found it.

“Because you know that’s all fake. It’s all done on the computer.” Peter walks towards his computer and other tech as Tony walks back towards the main part of the bedroom.

“Mmm-hmm.” Tony reaches for a stick.

“It’s like that video. What is it?”

“Yeah. Oh, you mean like those UFOs over Phoenix?” Tony asks as he pushes up on the attic hatch.

“Exactly.”

“What do we have here?” Tony asks as the Spider-Man suit comes down. Peter snatches it and hides it in his closet.

“Uh…”Peter tries a different distraction tactic. “I know your daughter.”

“Excuse me.” For a second, with the bruise on his face, Tony Stark’s face becomes sinister. “You know my daughter?”

“Y/N? She goes to my school. She’s a grade below me. At least I think she is since she said this morning she was in Leighton’s class and Leighton only teaches ninth grade.”

“You spoke to my daughter this morning?” The overprotective father comes out in his voice.

“Yeah she was… not important. Anyway-” Tony cuts him off.

“No, no. Correction to that statement. She is very important. Especially to me. So enlighten me. What did you talk to my daughter about?” 

“Uh, it really wasn’t that important.” Peter crosses his arms. He feels like he’s being interrogated by the father of a date he isn’t having. 

“Tell me anyway.”

“She was worried about someone. A female. One of the Avengers.” There’s a hint of recognition on Mr. Stark’s face, but he says nothing. “I caught her after she got off the phone. She looked stressed out. I asked if she needed someone to talk to. She mentioned she had used an excuse to get out of class to make a call. She mentioned something about explosions and people’s names being on Twitter. I thought she was worried about you. She said it was someone else.” Peter pauses, but Tony motions for him to continue. “She talked about how she worries a lot about you guys. She worries about losing her, well her new family I guess. Like she knows that you all can protect yourselves but she worries. So then I tried to distract her.”

“Distract her how.” Tony’s words came out as a demand as he stares at the teenager in front of him. “What did you do to my daughter.”

“I talked to her. Only talked! Promise sir!” Peter says quickly. “Asked her questions about living with two of the greatest scientists of all times. Although when I asked her if I could ask her something I had wondered about her first reaction was to tell me she’s never used the Iron Man suit.”

“What did she say about that?” Tony is suddenly curious to hear what Y/N had to say about living with him since it’s been over a month.

“She said that you’re a tinkerer. But she did go on to say that anything you do science wise is lost on her, since science is her least favorite subject. Something about the apple falling far from the tree or something.”

“I don’t believe that. But science being her least favorite subject has been mentioned a few times.” Tony pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at the picture on his lock screen before sliding it back into his pocket. “But to be honest, I didn’t come here to talk to you about my daughter, as much as I’d love to talk about her all night. You’re the Spider-ling. Crime fighting Spider. Spider-Boy”

“Spider-Man.”

“Not in that onesie you’re not.”

“It’s not a onesie. I don’t believe this. I was actually having a really good day today Mr. Stark. I talked with Y/N without doing anything stupid, didn’t miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there and this Algebra test, nailed it.”

“Who else knows? Anybody?”

“Nobody.”

“Not even your unusually attractive aunt?”

“No. No. No! If she knew she would freak out. And when she freaks out, I freak out.”

“You know what I think is really cool? This webbing.” He tosses it at Peter. “That tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?”

“I did.” Peter throws it in his closet to hide it again.

“Climbing walls, how you doing that? Adhesive gloves?”

“It’s a long story. I was…”

“Lordy! Can you even see in these?”

“Yes! Yes! I can!”

“I’m blind!” Tony jokes as Peter pulls away the suit and throws it back in the closet. 

“I can see in those! It’s just that when whatever happened, happened it’s like my sense have been dialed to eleven. There’s way too much input, so they just kinda help me focus.”

“You’re in dire need of an upgrade. Systemic, top to bottom, hundred- point restoration. That’s why I’m here.” Peter sits on his bed as he listens to Tony talk. “Why you doing this? I gotta know, what’s your MO? What gets you outta that twin bed in the morning? But I swear to god if you say my daughter’s name, you won’t swing another day in your life.”

“I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve spoken to your daughter-”

“I’ve also been a teenage boy. That means nothing to me.” Tony says, staring him down. “But seriously, what makes you go out and fight crime on the day to day?”

“Because… because I’ve been me my whole life, and I’ve had these powers for six months.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I read books, I build computers. And yeah I would love to play football, but I couldn’t then so I shouldn’t now.”

“Sure, because you’re different.”

“Exactly. But I can’t tell anybody that, so I’m not. When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t and then the bad things happen… they happen because of you.”

“So you wanna look out for the little guy, you wanna do your part? Make the world a better place and all of that, right?”

“Yeah, just looking out for the little guy. That’s what it is.” Tony stands up and walks over towards Peter.

“I’m going to sit here so you move the leg.” He claps a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You got a passport?”

“No, I don’t even have a driver’s license.”

“You ever been to Germany?”

“No.”

“Oh, you’ll love it.”

“I can’t go to Germany.”

“Why?”

“I got homework.”

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that.”

“No I’m being serious. I can’t just drop out of school.”

“Might be a little dangerous. Better tell Aunt Hottie I’m taking you on a field trip.” Tony reaches for the door and Peter webs him to the door before he can even turn the handle.

“Don’t tell Aunt May.”

“Alright Spider-Man. Get me out of this.”

“Sorry, I’ll get the dissolvent.”

“Oh and don’t even think about dating my daughter. Don’t think I missed the talking to my daughter being the good part of your day.” Peter looks over at Tony, who if looks could kill would have killed him already. “Now Happy will pick you up tomorrow morning to take you to Germany on one of my private jets after he drops Y/N off at school.”

“Who’s Happy?”

“My Head of Security. He will take you everywhere you need to be.”

“Why aren’t we leaving tonight for Germany?”

“Because I haven’t seen my daughter in over 48 hours and she might kill me if I don’t stop at home before leaving to go back overseas.”

“Oh. Right.”

“I will see you in Germany Mr. Parker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was definitely supposed to go up last Wednesday and then over the weekend, but I had the worst allergy attack of my life and long story short it's going up on a Monday. See you guys on Wednesday with the next update if everything goes as it should.


	8. Chapter 8

Your dad hasn’t been home in 48 hours but, according to Pepper, he somehow had time to go to MIT, spend the night at the compound and then fly to Berlin. It took less than a week for him to go back on what he had said and to be honest you were a bit passed pissed about it. Pepper had decided to order dinner for you both and had said Tony could figure something else out whenever he got home. If you were a betting woman, you bet that Pepper ordered some extra Thai food for him though. You, on the other hand, had decided to work on homework while waiting for food to arrive. But not even your English homework could hold your attention it seemed. Tony has managed to take the joy your favorite class normally brings you, because all you can think about is how pissed you are.

It also didn’t help that the tower was freezing, but you didn’t feel like telling FRIDAY to turn the temperature up. So instead you go digging through your drawers to find a sweatshirt to help warm you up. It wasn’t until you find a black one with words that really suit your mood. ‘No. I Checked My Receipts. I Don’t Buy Any Of Your Bullshit.’ Even though AC/DC’s Highway to Hell is blasting over your speakers, a knock on your door tells you that someone isn’t going to leave you alone.

“Hey there kiddo.” Even his voice irritates you right now. Instead of greeting him, you turn back towards your English assignment and continue typing. “Wow, two days away and I get the cold shoulder.”

“FRIDAY turn music up by 25%.” You say, trying to block him out.

“FRIDAY, music off.” You huff at the fact that his commands override yours. But decide to play it sweet instead of sour. 

“Did you need something?” You turn in your chair and paste a fake smile on your face.

“I know I was gone the past two days. I let you down. But I came and saw you before I even went looking for Pepper.”

“I don’t care.” But then you see the bruise on his face and you can’t pretend anything. “What happened to your face?”

“Ex-assassin under some brainwashing. Long story.” So he’s still going to keep things from you? 

“Was this while you were in Berlin? Missing family dinner again?” You know you sound like the stereotypical teenager that you usually try to shy away from, but you can’t help it.

“I fucked up. I know. And honestly, according to people other than you I fucked up in more ways than you can count. But I’m here for tonight’s dinner. I even pushed a trip to Germany to be here for it.” Tony sits down on your bed.

“Wow, I came before Germany. Not before Berlin though.” You throw your hands outward as your head moves from side to side.

“You do come before Berlin. I was hoping to make it home before I missed another dinner because I didn’t want to disappoint you again. I’m not good at saying it, but I’m sorry. I missed you the whole time I was gone.” His eyes read your sweatshirt and then looks back at your face. “That’s at me isn’t it?”

“Kind of.” You admit. “You did say ‘I would drop anything and everything for you’ and a week later I’m having dinner by myself and then finding out that Natasha’s in building’s that are being bombed and I don’t even know where you are and I was hurt by it.”

“You’re allowed to be hurt by it. I’m trying to be better, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fuck up occasionally. I wasn’t in Vienna, but I’ve seen Nat and she’s fine. Saw her in Berlin earlier.”

“Don’t tell me she has one of those too.” You motion towards his eye.

“She’s fine. She’s also an ex-assassin, remember? They tend to be pretty good at fighting other ex-assassins.”

“Good.”

“Now, dinner? Last I checked you were trending downward, so it’s a perfect time for dinner.”

“Has dinner been delivered?”

“It arrived when I did. Come on.” Tony offers an arm to you and you sink into his side hug as you walk downstairs with him. Pepper smiles at the two of you as she unboxes the Thai food that had been delivered.

“You two all good now?” She asks as she sets the food on the table. You nod. “Good. Now dinner is served.” You sit down and start eating your pineapple fried rice and tofu as Pepper and Tony talk about some SI stuff. 

“You know Y/N, I talked to a boy from your school today.”

“Really, why?”

“Possible intern.

“Uh, ok. Guess that makes sense. But do you even work at the lab at SI that much really?”

“He might end up being my personal intern here or at the Avenger’s Compound.”

“Really? Do I know him?”

“He knows you.” You can’t help but cock your head to the side as you take a bite of food. “Name’s Peter Parker. Talked about you quite a bit. Especially how you skipped out of class today.”

“I had a good reason. You see your family members' names in tweets with the word bomb and you would skip out of class too. I was going to call you too, but she told me you weren’t there.”

“Well he told me so much about you that it makes me wonder if I need to start laying down some ground rules for you and dating.”

“Pepper, make him stop!” You plead as you use your chopsticks to scoop up more food.

“Tony.” She warns from the other side of the table.

“No, this is my little girl. I’m allowed to be protective about this aspect. Dating and evil villains are my prerogative.”

“I’m not little. I’m fourteen. I’ve already gone on my first date.” Tony chokes on the water he was drinking.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I misunderstood you, but I thought I heard you say you already went on your first date.”

“I did. I already had my first boyfriend and girlfriend too.” You wait to see a reaction from either Pepper or Tony, but nothing happens.

“No more dating until you're 25, at least. I forbid it. I don’t care who they are. No one is good enough for you!” Tony says before angrily eating his food.

“He’ll lighten up eventually.” Pepper says with a smile.

“Or he’ll have FRIDAY lock me in my room until I’m 25.” You say with an eye roll.

“Don’t give him any ideas.” Pepper teases.

“I’m not completely unreasonable. I would just lock her in the tower.” Tony teases back. 

“I’ll text the Avengers to come save me.” You watch as your dad’s face grows darker. “What’s going on with the Avengers?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” He says, not really answering the question.

“I can call Natasha and ask.”

“Natasha is busy and I don’t think you should bother her.” Based off of the conversation you had with her earlier today, you can guess that’s probably actually true. “Besides, don’t you want to see your old man before he leaves tomorrow?”

“Why are you leaving?”

“Official Avengers business.”

“Weren’t you just on official Avengers business?” 

“Yes and sometimes the Avengers business is nonstop.” You glance over at Pepper and see a look of almost exasperation on her face. Apparently this isn’t the first time for her hearing this argument.

“When will you be back?”

“Hopefully, tomorrow night. But if not the day after at the latest.” Tony wants to promise that he’ll be back for dinner tomorrow night, but even with quinjet, he doesn’t think he can make it back in time. 

You walk back into the kitchen later, not expecting to find anyone. You just want a glass of water and then you’ll head to bed. “What are you wearing?” Your dad’s voice startles you.

“What are you doing up still?”

“Shouldn’t I ask you the same thing? One of us has school tomorrow, and it’s not me.”

“I was thirsty. Came to get water.” You shrug. “What do you mean what am I wearing?” You glance down at the shorts and tank top you had thrown on to go to sleep.

“You’re Iron Man?” He questions, looking over the wording on the grey tank. You glance down and finally realize what shirt you had put on to sleep in.

“Pepper found it when we were thrifting before school started. She thought it was funny.”

“Definitely is kiddo. Now water?” He asks, already reaching in the cupboard for a glass. Stepping into his favorite role, he gets you your water and walks up the stairs with you to your room. 

“You don’t have to come tuck me in. I’m fourteen.”

“Humor me.” He says, following you into your room. You set the glass on your bedside table and climb under the covers. Tony pulls them around you and tucks you in. “Goodnight kiddo. I love you.”

“Love you too Dad.” He kisses your forehead before heading towards his own room. He can’t help but smile as he thinks about you wearing something that reps him.

“What’s got you all smiley?” Pepper asks, setting down her Stark Pad.

“Well seeing as you got her the shirt, I guess you did.” Pepper’s eyebrows furrow as she tries to understand what Tony is talking about. “The Iron Man tank top? Y/N wore it to sleep in and I just love her so much Pep.” Pepper smiles but reaches for her phone.

“You want to see something better?” She asks as she sends Tony a picture. He glances at his phone before making a double take. “Completely her idea on the pose.”

“This is the best thing ever. I have the best kid.” Tony says. He slips under the covers to lay down next to Pepper, but can’t help but look at the picture again. Fuck it. He logs onto Instagram. Caption-  **I have the best kid ever.** Nothing else and then posts the photo after tagging you. After posting it, he flips over to your Instagram. He notices you have changed your bio to no longer show your old last name, but it doesn’t read Stark. He scrolls through some photos that you and your friends must have taken at lunch the other day as well as some pictures of some recent reads. You really plow through books fast. Maybe he should look at signing you up for one of those book subscription boxes that you get new books every month. You’d probably like that. He likes the newer photos that he hadn’t liked yet, before clicking his phone off. He pulls Pepper into his arms and lets sleep pull him under.

When you wake up the next morning, you see your notifications have blown up over night. You have  _ hundreds of thousands _ of new followers on both Instagram and Twitter. There’s also a bunch of comments. What happened? You had been sitting at a few hundred followers when you went to bed, and most of them were friends or people you knew from school. So what happened after you went to sleep. You click open Instagram and look at notifications. It’s too cluttered for you to find anything. So instead you click to your profile to see if one of your book photos went viral? That’s the only thing you could think of that would do this. But then you see the notification that you’ve apparently been tagged in a photo. Flipping pages, you see that your father made the dumbest mistake yet. You grab your phone and walk towards your dad and Pepper’s room, knowing that they’re probably up but not yet out of their room. You can’t help but roll your eyes at the situation as you knock on the door. 

“Come in.” Pepper calls from inside the room. As you walk in, you see her putting on jewelry, getting ready for her day at SI. Your dad is still laying in bed on the other hand. “Good morning Y/N.”

“Is it a good morning? Because someone in this family is an idiot.” You say looking at your dad.

“What did I do?” He asks, glancing up from his datapad as he keeps working with the design that he’ll need to work on when he gets back from Germany.

“You tagged me on Instagram. My private account now has a few hundred  _ thousand _ followers and people have found me on Twitter too.” Pepper turns from where she stands in the mirror.

“I thought we were trying to keep her name out of the press?” She asks, looking at Tony.

“Ok, so I didn’t completely think this through. But it was so cute I couldn’t not share it.”

“That’s not the point Tony. The whole world knows who your daughter is.”

“They already did.” Tony counters.

“No they knew you had a daughter. But her name and her face were mainly out of the picture.” Pepper takes a deep breath. “Guess I know what my day will be focused on.”

“I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.” Tony says pushing off from the mattress. He wants to hug both females that are upset with him but doesn’t know which to go after first. You, definitely you. “Kiddo, I just had to share with the world how much I loved you. I didn’t think what tagging you would do. I’m sorry.” He pulls you into his arms. “Forgive me?” He asks.

“Yeah I guess so. Except that now everyone knows for sure that I’m related to you.”

“I’ll up security if I have to. You’ll remain safe. I promise you that.” He says into your hair. “I do have to steal Happy from you for the next few days. He’ll take you to school today, but one of the other security people will pick you up. I’ll have Happy text you who it will be after we know for sure.”

“Fine, if you have too.” You step out of your dad’s arms. “I have to go get ready for school. Try not to expose anything else about me online while I do that ok?” You tease him.

“Cross my heart.” He promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to our regular schedule posting days as I hop back into a totally weird fall semester for college. 16 confirmed cases at my college in less than a week has me quaking so if you can send me good vibes/prayers for my immuno-compromised ass, I'd appreciate it.


	9. Chapter 9

Something had gone wrong. You’re not sure what because no one will give you an answer, but your dad got back three days ago from Germany and has been at the Compound for all of it, at least that’s what you’ve been told. Someone got hurt, badly, but besides that you don’t know who got hurt or what happened. You were stuck with Happy’s substitute for the past two days and it was awful because he didn’t talk to you like Happy does, but even with Happy back this morning, you haven’t gotten any answers. Pepper has been with you for the nights, but she doesn’t seem to have answers about what’s going on, or if she does, she’s not giving them to you. 

Natasha’s phone goes straight to voicemail whenever you try to get a hold of her. You even tried calling Clint, Wanda, and Steve, but none of them will take your calls either. You haven’t heard a word from your dad in the past three days, which almost makes his apology the other day feel like nothing. In the passing period between your last class and your final one for the day, you see if FRIDAY can work on your phone since she does at the tower. “FRIDAY?”

“Yes Y/N?” This is the one time you won’t be mad at your dad for forcing the AI into your tech. 

“Where’s my dad right now?”

“He just left the Compound on a chopper. Want me to call him for you?” You should say no, but it’s been three days with no contact and you're sick of it.

“Yes.” It rings once before the call connects.

“It’s not a good time Y/N.”

“You know how often you answer the phone like that? Too often.” Your voice is short, but you don’t have much time before the bell rings anyway. “It’d be nice for you to answer the phone like you like talking to me sometimes.”

“Aren’t you in class right now?” His voice comes out short and he doesn’t even address what you said.

“Passing period.”

“Meaning you should be heading to class.”

“I can talk and walk at the same time. I’m trying to figure out where my father is since he was supposed to be home three days ago.”

“Things came up.”

“They always seem to.”

“Y/N, I know I’m being shitty again, but if this was a big time movie we would be at a big reveal right now.”

“Yeah, but we’re not. Instead, I just am getting let down again.” You hit the end call before he can say anything else and turn the corner. Maybe missing a day of German wouldn’t be the worst. However, you don’t expect to run into Peter Parker at the end of the hallway again. 

“Fancy running into you again.” He says with a smirk.

“Yeah it’s crazy. Like we go to school together or something.” You mumble, not in the mood to deal with anyone right now. 

“You ok, Y/N?” You finally look at his face and notice a bruise across his face.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You look like you got sucker punched.”

He shrugs, “It was no big deal. You should have seen the other guy.”

“My dad’s not a huge fan of his interns getting into fights, so I’d be careful about it if I were you.” You mention.

“Yeah, I will.” He looks you over as the bell rings giving you the warning that classes are about to start. “Where you heading to?”

“I’m thinking classes aren’t going to hold my attention today. Really long story. I’ll see you around Parker.”

“Can I come with?”

“Excuse me?”

“Can I come with you? I don’t think classes will hold my attention either.” He says with a shrug.

“Sure. I don’t have a plan though.”

“That’s the best kind of day.” Peter looks around the corner for teachers before opening the side door for you to walk out. You almost expect him to stay behind, but he follows, closing the door softly as to not alert anyone who might walk by. 

“So I never would have thought Peter Parker to be a skipper.”

“Never thought Y/N Stark to be a skipper.” 

“Only when the time is right.” He goes to walk out onto the street and you grab his shoulder pulling him back towards the school. “Hold on.” You glance around the corner, looking to see if the paparazzi are waiting. The last thing you need is for your dad to find out you skipped school, with Peter nonetheless, through the gossip blogs. But seeing as it’s over an hour before school lets out, none of the usual suspects are there. “Ok, we’re in the clear.” You motion him forward.

“In the clear from what?”

“Paparazzi.” You say with a shrug.

“They stalk you at school?”

“You haven’t seen them? They’re there before and after school like every day hoping to see Pepper or Dad dropping me off or picking me up. But especially since Dad accidentally leaked my name online, it’s been a bit worse.”

“I guess I haven’t paid that much attention. Is that rough?”

“It was at first. Now I just kind of ignore it as much as possible.” You turn the corner towards the coffee shop where you used to grab coffee before all of the Tony stuff happened. “Coffee?”

“Uh, I don’t usually drink it, but I’ll come with you.” You both walk into the mom and pop shop and you wave to Marcie who seems so happy to see you.

“Oh I should text Happy.”

“He’s an interesting person.”

“You’ve met him?” You’re surprised since most of the time Happy shuttling you to and from school.

“He came with your dad when I got offered the uh internship.”

“Oh I guess that makes sense.” You say even though it doesn’t. Happy was with you the day that your dad said he spoke with Peter.

“Does Happy drive you to school often?” 

“Every day basically. And picks me up. But if I don’t text him now, he’ll be waiting for me the moment school is done and I don’t feel like being cooped up in the tower so soon.” You pull out your phone and send a text about a study group meeting at school. “That will give me at least a couple hours before I have to meet him.” You mention as you shove your phone in your pocket. “Are you interning today?”

“Uh sort of?” 

“I figure not with Dad since he’s off on Avengers duty.”

“Yeah uh, I’m waiting to hear with who.” Peter says as he crosses his arms across his chest. He knows he needs to change the subject or he might blow his cover story and then he won’t even get to pretend he’s an Avenger. “Can I ask, why cooped up in the tower? I feel like the Avengers Tower would be amazing.”

“Maybe it would be if I had a choice in all of it. But I also have like zero freedom. It’s literally, get driven to school, get driven home, and school in between. I can’t leave the tower unless I have Happy and another adult with me because of ‘safety’ reasons. And I just want some of my freedom back.”

“That does sound rough. If you weren’t living the life of Y/N Stark, what would you be doing on a day like today?”

“I’d…” You pause to think about it. What would you be doing? “I’d probably have a sleepover with Betty and Astrid. Watch movies and stay up way too late. Talk about things that have little meaning like trying to get a date to homecoming or the hot guy in our English class. I don’t know. Just be normal. Not have to worry about the Avengers getting in trouble or whether or not my dad is going to find out about me skipping school thanks to the paparazzi taking pictures of me.” 

“The normal?” Marcie asks as you get to the counter and you nod, feeling a little bit of normalcy fall into your life. You give her a ten dollar bill and drop the change in the tip jar. It wasn’t like Tony wasn’t giving you an allowance now, as much as it was weird every time he gave it to you. 

“What about you? When you’re not interning, what’s the normal life of Peter Parker like?”

“Uh, Ned and I build a lot of legos.” He admits as a pink flush rises to his cheeks. 

“Those like plastic building blocks?”

“Yeah, they have some really cool builds and stuff. We’re working on a Lego Death Star right now.”

“Lego Death Star? What’s that?” Peter’s jaw hits the floor.

“You don’t know what the Death Star is?” Peter pulls out his phone and pulls up a picture. Not a Stark Phone you note. “This is the Death Star.”

“Cool?” You shrug as Marcie puts your latte with almond milk on the end of the counter. 

“Have you never watched Star Wars?” Peter asks, confusion lacing his words. You shake your head. “How have you lived without seeing Star Wars? It’s literally the greatest thing ever.”

“I bet I could find at least five space themed books that are better.” You tease, knowing how uptight Star Wars fans are about their genre usually.

“Ah a reader.” You walk over to but a couple equals into your coffee. “I should have known.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You tease back.

“You’re missing out on some of the best films ever made because you think the books are better. Well I’ll just have to find you some Star Wars books.”

“Fine but no Star Wars fanfiction. I’m not stooping to that level.”

“Like you would understand it.” Peter teases back. Your phone goes off in your back pocket.

**H: What study group is happening on a Friday afternoon?**

“Quick what study group would be happening on a Friday afternoon?”

“SAT prep group.” Peter throws out.

“You’re a genius!” You quickly type back to Happy as Peter can’t help but smile at the compliment that you gave him. He likes being out with Y/N. You’re different from the brief times he spent with Mr. Stark or Happy. You’re more relaxed. More down to earth, and he would be lying if he didn’t want to get to know you better. In the back of his head, Mr Stark’s  _ don’t even think about dating my daughter _ reverberates, but he can shove it aside as he lets you ramble for a few minutes about some great space books and even about the time your Pops took you to see a space documentary at the planetarium when you were a kid. But then your phone goes off again and you can’t help but groan.

**P: Since when did you join an SAT prep group?**

“I can’t lie to Pepper too.”

“Pepper Potts? Like CEO of Star-” Your hand flies over his mouth.

“More like my dad’s girlfriend.” Even though you’re sitting outside the coffee shop, you don’t know who could be listening in. “And she’s asking me when I joined an SAT prep group, which means Happy texted her, and she texted me, which could mean she might text my dad.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Not touch it with a ten foot pole? If I lie to her and she catches me in it, it’ll just…” You mock an explosion with your hands.

“You could tell her you’re trying it out. Wouldn’t necessarily be a lie. You didn’t join it.”

“But she’ll want me to stay in it and the lie will just get bigger and bigger.” You leave Pepper’s message unread, knowing there’s nothing you can do with it right now. “When do you have to get to internship?”

“Not for a bit.” Swinging across Queens could wait especially since Peter didn’t know when he would get another chance to be with Y/N again. “What time is Happy coming to get you?”

“I’ll probably tell him to come in like an hour. I don’t want him to think I’m pushing this too much. Plus the longer I push it, the more of a chance that Pepper gets suspicious.” You take a sip of your coffee and then an idea comes to you. “Do you need a ride to the labs? Happy could drive you.”

“What, uh no, it’s fine. I’ll take the subway.”

“Right, yeah. I just figured we were heading into Manhattan so I’d offer.”

“No, yeah. I appreciate it, I just really like catching the train.” Peter admits, which is true, but also he’s not heading into Manhattan.

“I get that. The feeling of the train moving under you. One of the best feelings in the world.”

“Exactly.” Peter wishes he had bought a drink so he has something to sip on, but at the same time, he hates the taste of coffee. “Do you and your dad ever take the train and go places together?”

“Dad? Taking the subway? That sounds like the craziest thing that has ever come out of your mouth Parker. Dad doesn’t like taking things that people try to hand him. You think he would take the subway with me?” You can’t help but laugh. “He won’t even let me take the subway to school. I can count on one finger the number of times I’ve taken the train since I moved in with him. So to answer your question, no he does not take the train and he doesn’t let me take it either because it’s apparently a safety issue.” You roll your eyes.

“But you disagree.”

“I’ve been taking the subway since I was a baby and it only became a safety issue when I moved in with him. So no I don’t agree.”

“Have you talked with him about it?”

“Have you tried to ask him to consider anything? It’s like talking with a concrete wall. Unmovable and unchangeable. Hell I can’t even get him to come home half the time.”

“That sounds lonely.”

“That’s the life of being a Stark.” You say with a shrug.

“That sounds unfair to you.”

“Yeah well he hasn’t really been home much for me to talk to him about it. Even if he had been, I doubt he’d listen to me.” Your eyes focus on the coffee cup in front of you, not sure why you’re admitting this to a boy you’ve only had a handful of conversations with. “I shouldn’t be forcing all of this on you. I’m sorry. I’m being a real buzzkill today.”

“I don’t mind it.” Peter reaches across the table to gently rub your hand. “That’s what friends are for. Listening to the hard stuff.”

“So we’re friends now Parker?”

“I’d like to think so. Friends skip class together.” He says with a shrug.

“Friends it is then.” You take a sip of the coffee in front of you and try to ignore the sparks that are sitting where Peter’s hand touched yours. 

You expect the tower to be empty like it has been the past few days when you get home, but instead Pepper’s waiting for you. “Oh, hi Pepper.”

“How was SAT Prep?” She asks.

“Fine. I was trying it out, but I don’t really like the group, so I don’t think I’ll be sticking with it.” You’re proud none of that lie got stuck in your throat.

“It wasn’t the fact that it interfered with your German class?” Pepper’s right eyebrow raises at you.

“Ah so you know about that.” You say, knowing that lying when she already knows about it isn’t going to fix anything.

“Yeah, funny the school calls when you miss a class. So want to try that again?”

“So I might not have been at a SAT prep course.”

“I had a feeling. Wanna sit down and talk?” She asks, patting the couch next to her and setting her files on the table in front of her. You set your book bag on the floor and sit down on the couch next to her. “Come here?” She opens her arms to you and you fall into them. “So, what made German not worth it today?”

“Do you ever feel like the Avengers are more important than you?”

“Ah so Tony Stark.” Pepper says as she rubs a hand up and down your shoulder lovingly. “The Avengers have a hard job, but I think you and I have a harder job.”

“Really?” 

“We are the ones that are stuck at home waiting for them to finish the battle and hopefully come home safe.” You lean into Pepper’s shoulder and nod. Hammer meet nail.

“How do you deal with all of this? You’ve put up with him for so long? I’ve been dealing with him for a little over a month and I’m sick of feeling so angry at him every time he goes back on a promise.”

“I love him. Which is an awful reason to put up with it all, but at the same time I was there when he was originally kidnapped and I can’t put up with the idea of going through that again and not be waiting for him at the end of everything. We’ve been through so much and I know at the end of the day, he’s the person I want to be with at the end of it all. He’s impulsive and at times crazy, but he also is loving and wonderful.” Pepper places a kiss in your hair. “I’ll tell you a secret.” You peer up at her waiting to hear what she has to say. “I think you love him too.”

“That’s not much of a secret.”

“But that’s why you feel so angry every time he goes back on his word. Because you love him and you want him to be here when he’s not. He’s trying. It may not feel like it, but he is. He’ll figure out the way he’s supposed to do things eventually. He just might need a shove in the right direction first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Survived week one of fall semester! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought!


	10. Chapter 10

Tony is waiting in the car with Happy after school on Monday. The paparazzi are loving it. They’re shouting both yours and Tony’s name, trying to get pictures of the father/ daughter duo. You on the other hand are not loving it. Especially after he came home with a busted up Iron Man suit the other night, not willing to explain anything, and then left to spend almost the entire weekend at the Compound. “Why are you here?” You ask as you climb into the back seat.

“Oh I am great. It’s so good to see you too.” He ignores the question you ask and you roll your eyes. The mood he’s in reminds you of the person you met back when he told you you were moving in with him and you once again hate it.

“Fine, whatever, don’t explain anything. You’re shit at that too.” You pull out your phone, expecting Happy to start driving, but the car stays in one place. “Are we going?”

“Waiting on one more thing.” Tony says as Peter walks up to the car.

“Uh hi Mr. Stark, Y/N.” Your eyebrows furrow together as he gets into the car with you and your dad. “Thanks for the ride, but I really could have taken the subway to the lab.”

“I think he personally vendetta against the subway.” You say with another roll of your eyes. Peter smirks, remembering your conversation from the other day. You’re personally relieved that someone else is in the car so you don’t have to have an awkward ride with Tony, but at the same time, Tony and Peter, not quite the ride you wanted either.

“So how was MSST today?” Tony asks looking at both of you.

“The usual.” You reply, not wanting to give him anything.

“Pretty good.” Peter responds.

“How about German Y/N? Learn anything interesting today?” Oh he wants to play that game does he?

“I don’t know, how was Germany? See anything interesting there?” Peter looks at Mr. Stark over your head trying to figure out how much you know, but he gives Peter nothing.

“Just the usual Avenger stuff. But seeing as you seemed to have not gone to your lesson on Friday, I would think today would have been interesting.” So he knows you skipped, big deal. Instead of replying, you just shrug and put your attention on your phone. You can play the insolent teenager when you want to. “FRIDAY power off Y/N’s phone except for essential functions.” Your screen goes dark apart from your blood sugar readings.

“Really?” You meet his eyes. “You wanna do this now?”

“I’m trying to have a conversation with you.”

“No you’re trying to bring up stuff that happened while you were too busy off being an Avenger. Pepper already talked to me about it. Like family does.” It’s a low blow sure, but you’re feeling pissed off now. “But you would have known that if you hadn’t spent all weekend with your precious Avengers instead of at home with your family.” You spit the words at him.

“The Avengers are family.”

“Yours maybe. But you’ve been preaching at me about how you want to get to know me better. Then every chance you get you turn around and then leave. If you didn’t want me, you should have left me with Nana and Pops. Now you’re being rude to Peter. Talk to him. ‘Cause I’m done.” You cross your arms and won’t look at him.

“This is far from done.” Tony says. “You don’t get to throw at me that I don’t want you and then expect me to turn around and not to rebuttal it. Because that is the farthest thing from the truth.”

“Yeah? Because every time I call you, worried about you nonetheless, you tell me it’s not a good time or that you’re busy. You promise you’ll be home in twenty-four hours from a mission, then three days go by and I don’t even get a phone call telling me that something happened. I had to find out from other people, who won’t even tell me what happened. Then you come home in a busted up Iron Man suit, again won’t explain anything, but then turn around and spend the rest of the weekend at the Compound. That definitely screams that you want me. Shove me off on your girlfriend and your head of security. That doesn’t make me feel like I’m a burden to you at all. You won’t come to me unless I’m literally dying. Is that what needs to happen? I need to be actually dying to get the tiniest bit of attention? Because if that’s the case, being a Stark isn’t fucking worth it.” The words explode out of you and you can’t stop them. “You said you’re not the best at having a kid either, but you’re going to try your very best at it. This seems the farthest from that. And before you apologize for fucking up again, just know there’s only so many times you can say that before it loses it’s affect.”

Tony takes a breath before speaking, “you’re right. I did fuck up again. When you lay everything out, I’m doing a shit job again. But I promise you, you’re not a burden. You’re wanted in this family. I love you. Pep loves you. Happy, well I won’t speak for him, but I’m pretty sure he loves you too.”

“You’re loved kid.” Happy says from the front seat. “Sometimes more than the big guy. He just pays the bills.”

“Thanks Happy.” You didn’t mean to take your frustrations out on one of the people that has been here for you since all of this started. Peter notices the differences in how Happy acts with you, must be because you’re Tony’s kid.

“Definitely do not pull that dying stunt again because I have a heart condition and I can’t take seeing you in the med bay again. Ok? No you don’t have to be dying to get the little bit of attention, but Rhodey got badly injured.”

“Rhodey is injured? Is he ok?” You may have said the Avengers weren’t your family, but they are. And now you’re worried about your Uncle Rhodey- whoa where did that come from?

“He’s going to have to make some adjustments but he’s going to live. I was trying to make sure he was ok- or well trying to make him better than ok this weekend and I should have done a better job explaining that to you before I ran off. I’m still learning how to be a dad kiddo. And I’m going to break some eggs before I make an omelette.” Peter’s watching this interaction between you and your dad. It’s a whole different side to Mr. Stark. One who owns up to things when he’s done wrong but also wants to be better.

“Fine, but I better get an omelette in the end.” You say, only slightly kidding.

“You tell me what toppings you want and I’ll make sure you get it.” Tony says.

“Also give me my phone functions back,” You say before adding a please to the end.

“FRI turn her phone back on.” Tony says before adding, “You want to put some music on Y/N?”

“From my only subpar choices?” You tease him before asking FRIDAY to turn on your June playlist, even though the songs are getting a little old. But your top three playlists at the moment are June, I Hate My Life and Tony Stark Can Rot. The latter two you’re not going to ask FRIDAY to play in front of Peter, so June it is. House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals starts playing as Tony turns his attention towards Peter, who has fallen into the background as you and Tony had your argument.

“Sorry you had to witness that Mr. Parker, but as I mentioned to you in one of our other other conversations, she is very important to me, hence her education is very important to me. Can’t have her skipping class you know?”

“Of course not sir.” Peter’s eyebrows pull together and you stifle a laughter that is threatening to break free.

“Something funny kiddo?” Tony asks, eyeing you.

“Oh nothing. Social media. Yeet or be yeeted out there these days.”

“I think it’s actually yeet or be yoted.” Peter teases you.

“I disagree, good sir.” You tease back.

“I don’t know what this is that you’re talking about, but back to me.” Tony says from the other side of the car. “Now Peter, you’re a year ahead of Y/N correct?”

“Yes Mr. Stark.”

“Can you explain to her why science should be her favorite subject? Because I have tried a number of times and it has not hit home yet.”

“I uh- don’t think I can convince her of that.” Peter messes with the earbuds dangling from the neck of his shirt.

“You better be careful Dad, he might try to convince me to go to the dark side.”

“I’m sorry, the dark side?” Tony’s eyes go dark, staring Peter down, although he has no idea either where you’re going with this.

“Star Wars fanfiction. Super dark place.” You tease, not even looking up from your phone. “You should be proud, he offered and I said no. Can’t be going to the dark side at this point in time. What kind of legacy is that?”

“I swear I did no such thing. I actually said it would be no place for her, sir.” Peter throws his hands up. “I thought you were my friend Y/N. Friends don’t throw friends under buses like this.”

“I don’t think I like the two of you hanging out.” Your dad points a finger at the two of you.

“You wouldn’t take away one of the few friends I have would you?” You say looking at your dad with as close to puppy dog eyes as you can manage. 

“Fine, I surrender. You can stay friends with Mr. Parker for right now. But no more threatening to go to the dark side, of any kind.” You laugh and turn back to scrolling through your phone. 

You’ve scrolled Twitter and Instagram. You’re not going to risk Tumblr with Peter sitting next to you, so guess that means time to catch up on all your Snapchat streaks. Flipping over to the filters, you want to see what new ones there are today. The first couple have been there for the past few days, the puppy, the bear ears with glasses, and the heart ones. But then you spy one that makes you laugh. And it does say try it with friends. “Dad, you have to try this with me.” You show him your screen as the Iron Man mask falls over your face and War Machine falls over his.

“No. I am Iron Man. Not Rhodey!” He practically shrieks. 

“What’s wrong with being Uncle Rhodey?” You ask, not realizing it’s the first time the words leave your mouth.

“Nothing is wrong with being him. I just look better in red and gold. Fix it.” 

“Download the app yourself. I have my own streaks to send.” You flip over to one of the other filters and your dad watches over your shoulder.

“No. Who are you sending that to?”

“Betty? We have a two hundred and thirty three day streak?” You explain.

“Pick a different filter.”

“Why?” 

“Because you look fine as you are. You don’t need all these beauty filters dressing you up.” Tony couldn’t voice that he didn’t like the fact that it was making you look way older than you needed to be.

“You’re overreacting. Peter, what do you think?” You show him the snap.

“Uh you look nice no matter what Y/N. But I think the Iron Man one is way cooler.” Peter says.

“Ugh you guys are the worst.” You retake the picture with the Iron Man filter and send it to Betty.

“Much better.” Your dad says. “Now how do I get a streak with you?”

“You aren’t cool enough to have a streak with me.” He places his hand over his heart. 

“Ouch you wound me so kiddo.”

“Right back at you.” You send pictures to your other streaks before you see a request for a new friend on Snapchat- peter_p has friended you. You hit accept and send him a similar Iron Man filtered pic. Peter surprises you with a pic of your dad with the War Machine filter over him that you screen grab before the time runs out. You set it as your dad’s caller ID photo, and can’t help when the giggle escapes your mouth. 

“What’s so funny?” Tony asks, trying to look at your phone.

“Nothing.” You and Peter both say, which definitely doesn’t convince Tony. 

“I’m never letting the two of you ride together again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So looks like I may not have to leave my house for classes anymore, so I may have even more time to write than I already did. Which is a plus but I was already super bored of being home six days a week so we shall see how this goes. Let me know what you think of this!


	11. Chapter 11

“Boss, Y/N has jumped in the shower with water on only hot.” Not the weirdest thing you’ve done since moving in but apparently weird enough that FRIDAY felt the need to tell him.

“Turn the water to her normal preference so she doesn’t scold herself.” He says, turning back to tinker with the machine in front of him.

“Boss she manually changed it back and told me not to ‘F with it again you piece of S AI’ direct quote boss.” That does sound a bit like what you would say but not to the AIs you’ve lived with. It’s still fall outside, and honestly feels more like summer so a hot shower makes little sense. A cold one sure, but burning? Especially with how hot the water at the tower goes? Maybe tinker time needs a pause and teenage time needs to start.

“FRIDAY what is her blood sugar right now?”

“375 and rising.” Well that might have something to do with everything. So he decides to wait in the kitchen for Y/N to get out of the shower. You come down stairs wearing a black shirt that says ‘Will Commit Sins For Sushi’, some athletic shorts and he’s happy to see your pump clipped on.

“How was school today?” He decides not to start with the blood sugar questions.

“I ripped my fucking site off and didn’t have back up supplies if that’s what you wanted to know.” You mumble as you go looking for some water.

“Why didn’t you call me? Or Happy?”

“So you can drive an hour round trip, pass.”

“Only takes about fifteen minutes to fly there. Medical emergencies trump any tinkering I might have been doing.”

“Why would you fly ther-“ you realize what he means. “Iron Man is not bring me my pump supplies.”

“If Spider-Man can be the friendly neighborhood crime fighter why can’t I?”

“You wouldn’t be fighting crime. You’d be pulling the over protective card.”

“I’d be saving your life.”

“It was only ripped out for the last two periods.”

“But with your commute that’s over three hours without insulin.”

“Hence why I took an injection and a fucking hot shower that your AI tried to fuck up.”

“Why hot?”

“Helps the insulin circulate faster.”

“Anything else that helps it come down?”

“Water and movement.”

“So I’m hearing we need a dance party.”

“What?”

“FRIDAY turn on Y/N playlist Tony Stark Can Rot.” 

“How do you know my playlists?” You ask as Under Pressure by Queen starts playing. 

“No time for questions. Only time for dancing.” Your dad says as he pulls you to a standing position. “Come on.” He smiles and sings along with the classic and you can’t help but move your hips with the beat you love. “Watching some good friends scream,”

“Let me out!” You scream sing along. You may feel like shit, but you can’t hate this dance party. You and Tony make it through Minority by Green Day, Back in Black by AC/DC, and Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash before your arrow finally points downward on Wallace.

“Even though I may not agree with the title of said playlist, you do have some good music on it.” Tony says as the two of you plop down on the couch.

“So my subpar music education isn’t the worst is what I’m hearing.”

“I’m just saying there is some AC/DC and some Black Sabbath, so I can allow you to listen to it.”

“How would you know what music is on my playlists unless you listened to it?” You ask, leaning against his arm.

“Because after you waltz around my house in Rolling Stones shirts I needed to make sure your music education wasn’t too badly screwed up.” He explains as if it’s no big deal.

“You could have just asked what else I like listening to.”

“Oh no, hearing your playlist names was much more fun.”

“And I bet you’re the boring person who just puts the date or something like that.” You tease him.

“So what if I do? I know which one is the more recent one.”

“That’s so boring.” You turn to sit on the couch so your legs are hanging over the back of the couch.

“Why do you kids sit like rules don’t apply?” Tony asks, thinking back to how Peter literally walked up the walls the other day while he was pacing before sitting on the ceiling the other day.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying, there’s a proper way to sit on a couch and it’s not with your feet up here.” He taps your feet, not explaining where his mind actually went. Keeping Peter’s powers a secret from you was a priority for him. You knew too many superheroes so far. But seeing as you seem to be determined to be friends with Spider-Man’s alter-ego, he was determined to keep you from the superhero side of things. The elevator pings and Pepper walks into the living room. 

“Like father, like daughter I see.” She smirks as she sees you sitting upside down on the couch.

“What was that about a proper way to sit on a couch Dad?” You ask as the blood rushes to your head.”

“No idea.” He gets up to greet Pepper, who rolls her eyes at his antics. “How are all the plans for moving day coming?”

“You would know if you attended the meetings you were supposed to attend now wouldn’t you?” Pepper reprimands him. “But everything is going the way it should. We just need to decide if we’re going to stay at the compound or if we want to find a different place in the city.”

“Wait we’re moving?” You flip over, finally hearing what they’re talking about.

“Well the tower is going to become a part of SI so it wouldn’t make sense for us to live here. So we’re between either moving to the Compound or finding a new place in Manhattan.”

“And you weren’t going to tell me that you were going to move me again?” You ask in disbelief.

“I could have sworn I mentioned it to you.” Tony says apologetically. “Do you want to place a vote on where we move to?”

“You’re incorrigible.” You say as you move out of the living room and towards your room that apparently won’t be yours for much longer. 

“You said you were going to talk to her.” Pepper says looking at Tony. “You promised.”

“I was going to, but then her blood sugar was all out of whack and I was focusing on that and I lost track of time.” Tony tries to explain, but Pepper’s eyes see more than that. He had been avoiding it.

“Go talk to her.” Pepper pushes him towards where you just stormed off towards.

“Can’t I wait until she’s in range?”

“And have her be more mad at you? Absolutely not.” Pepper gives him another push. “Go talk to your daughter.”

You pull the quilt around your shoulders as you face the wall. You were finally getting comfortable living in the tower and you’re going to have to move again. If you move to the compound, there goes all your friends and your school. Tony probably will pick moving closer to his precious Avengers so you’re just going to have to suck up the fact that he’s going to uproot your entire life again. You feel the tears running down your cheek before you even realize you’re crying. Fuck high blood sugars. You’re not that upset about this whole thing, but with your stupid sugars all out of whack you can’t control anything it seems.

“Hey kiddo?” Your dad’s voice comes from the door, but you don’t say anything but pull the quilt tighter around you. “Kiddo, I need you to talk to me.”

“Fuck you.” You mumble from under your blankets.

“Ok, I will give you that. You did talk to me. And I’m sorry I didn’t mention moving sooner, but honestly, it slipped my mind.” His hand falls to rest on your back on top of the quilt.

“Don’t touch me.” You say sharply, pulling away from him. 

“Ok, I’m sorry.” He looks at the pile of blankets in front of him. He feels so lost. All he wants to do is go back to you lying upside down on the couch a few moments earlier. “What can I do to fix this?”

“Let me go back to Nana and Pops. Let everything go back to normal.” You mumble.

“Besides that.” He waits for something, anything to leave your mouth, but nothing does.”I’ll order you all the vegetarian sushi that New York has?” He waits for a reaction, but hears nothing except maybe sniffles. Did he make you cry? God, he’s failing worse than he thought as a father. Guess he needs to take a different approach. “We don’t even have to leave Manhattan. Or we can move out to Queens. Maybe get a brownstone or something so you don’t have to go as far for school. I can add a lab anywhere. And Pep will be wherever we are so that doesn’t change.” The covers flap over.

“You aren’t going to just automatically choose moving to the compound?” He wants to push the hairs that are covering your forehead away, but after you got so upset the last time he touched you, he decides against it. 

“Why do you think I would do that?”

“Because you would want to be with Avengers.”

“Pssssh. They can handle themselves. Right now I need to focus on my family. And that’s you and that’s Pep. Anyone else can take a number and wait their turn.” You stare him down, like you’re trying to decide if that’s true or not. But after a moment you throw your arms around him. It takes a second but his arms wrap around you and hold you to him. One of his arms wrap around your waist and the other rises up to smooth down your hair. “Plus if we move to Queens, I could just walk over to your school when you rip a site out. Wouldn’t even need the Iron Man suit.”

“Like you would give up the chance to wear the Iron Man suit.” You mumble into his shoulder. 

“She’s right. You wear that suit all the times you can.” Pepper says from the doorway. “So are we moving to Queens?” 

“Are you okay with moving to Queens?” Tony asks.

“If it keeps everyone in this family from fighting, yes.” Pepper says with a smile.

“Spider-Man might think you’re encroaching on his turf.” You mention.

“I think he and I can come to an agreement.” Tony says with a smile that you don’t understand.

“Right, like you know Spider-Man.” You say rolling your eyes. “He’s way too cool for you.” If only you knew, Tony can’t help but think to himself.

“I think Spider-Man and I would be great friends, I’ll have you know.”

“You’re too old to be friends with him. He’d yell yeet before throwing you off a building.”

“Maybe Steve. But I think Spider-Man and I would be on the same team.”

“Doubtful. Now someone promised me sushi, and you already made me cry once today, so...” You say looking at your father.

“Sushi it is.” He says, before placing a kiss on your forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for no updates last week. There was a massive wind storm that knocked my power out for like the whole week. But here we are, back in business! Let me know what you thought of the chapter:)


	12. Chapter 12

Your dad has never seen you do a pump change or a sensor change. Honestly all the supplies live in your room so it’s just easier for you to do it there. But after Peter and him finished in the lab on Friday, Pepper asked Peter if he wanted to stick around for dinner, which then turned into him staying to watch a movie with you, Pepper, and Tony. But in the middle of Labyrinth, which is your favorite movie, your sensor fails. “Goddamn it Wallace.” You mutter looking at your phone screen, displaying the replace sensor now message as Chilly Down plays in the background.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asks you before speaking to FRIDAY. “FRI- pause the movie.” Sarah and all the swamp creatures, if you can call them that stop moving as your dad’s attention is focused on you. “You high? You low? Tell me what’s happening?” He asks.

“Sensor failed. Like five days early too.” You reach under your shirt and pull off the sensor that isn’t doing anything for your now. But your nails trace over where the sensor had been. “But the only good thing is I can scratch the itch that has been driving me bonkers.” You admit.

“So what do you need?” You dad has turned his hyperfocus on, but this isn’t something you can’t handle.

“I just have to grab the stuff to change it. Give me like five minutes and I can change it while we watch the movie.”

“I’ll grab some more drinks for everyone while we do.” Pepper says with a smile. “And maybe make some more popcorn too.”

Walking into your bedroom, you open the drawer that’s filled with all your supplies. You grab the four things you need: the sensor, alcohol wipes, a Skin Tac wipe, and an over patch. Oh shit! Your transmitter was supposed to last through this last sensor, so you’ll have to replace that one too. Picking everything up in your hands you make your way back down towards the living room. 

“Got enough stuff kiddo?” Your dad asks as you sit back down.

“You should see what it looks like when I have to do a double site change. So much more trash.” You notice Peter has your old sensor in his hand and is turning it over, looking at it from all the angles.

“Sorry.” He mumbles as he notices you staring at him. “I just found it interesting.”

“It doesn’t bug me. It’s trash now.” You lift it from his hand and snap out the transmitter. “This comes apart, since normally you reuse the transmitter for three months at a time. But that one bit the dust with the sensor failing.” You explain before motioning towards the box with the new one. 

“And this whole thing reads your sugars?” You nod.

“That wire there gets inserted under the skin into this tissue or something that my lack of science can’t explain. But it reads your fluids or stuff that’s there and reports that data through the transmitter to my pump and to my phone.”

“Do you feel the wire under your skin?” Peter asks.

“Nope. The most I feel from the whole sensor is if I like lay on it wrong, or if I start reacting to the adhesive. Or if I place it in a spot and a door rips it off. That fucking hurts.” You think back to the last time that a door ripped your sensor off and wince slightly.

“Hold on, go back. You react to the adhesive?” Your dad’s voice is suddenly concerned.

“Well I’m allergic to latex and some other adhesives so every now and then I react to the Dexcom adhesive.” You shrug. “That’s why I use these.” You hold up the over patch and the Skin Tac. “They produce barriers and help it stay on long enough.”

“You’re allergic to your medical device and yet you still wear it?” Your dad voices his concern.

“It’s either that or wake up multiple times a night to check my sugars. I’ll take some hives and blisters over that. I like sleeping.” You say with a shrug. Opening the bag that holds the sensor, you lay out all the things that you need for this sensor change. You wipe down your thigh with the alcohol wipe before taking the transmitter out of the box so you can pair it. While it works on pairing, you take the Skin Tac wipe and wipe down the skin so the adhesive can become tacky. While it’s drying, you break off the safety handle off of the sensor. 

“What the fuck kiddo? That needle is like six inches long?” Your dad exclaims, seeing it through the plastic inserter.

“Yeah, it has to be so that it can get deep enough for the sensor to work. But it gets pulled out. I can go in the other room if the needle thing is going to be an issue?” You sometimes forget that other people aren’t as calm around needles as you are after ten years of being a diabetic.

“No it’s fine. Stay where you are. I just thought it was something that you like placed on your skin.”

“But how would the wire get into the tissues?” You ask rhetorically. You pull the papers that are blocking the adhesive and lie it down where you want the sensor to go. You’re not going to say anything to Peter or your dad, because their eyes are already on you, but you actually hate plunging this needle down. Place the sensor in the wrong spot and it hurts badly as it plunges through veins and nerves with no mercy. So instead of showing the fear of hoping you’ve picked a good spot, you take a breath, smile at them and say “Three, two, one,” and slam the needle down. “Motherfucker!” You exclaim as you feel it shoot through a nerve. You pull the needle out and rub at the skin around the sensor. Your dad is by your side in seconds, while Peter jumps up, not sure what is causing you pain, but doesn’t want to be the cause of more pain.

“What can I do, bambina?” Your dad asks. Peter’s arms cross as he watches as one of your eyes scrunches up as you continue to rub the same spot on your thigh. Tony’s arm wraps around you once he knows that he won’t hurt you more.

“Nothing. I picked a shit spot to put it. Hit a nerve.” You explain. You put the transmitter in clicking it in, hearing the double click to be sure. And twist off the end piece of plastic. Lastly you add the overpatch that has roses drawn on it to secure it in place. “I’m good now, I promise.” You look up at your dad, seeing that he doesn’t believe you.

“I hate seeing you in pain.”

“It’s part of diabetes. We deal with a lot of pricks.” You joke, but he doesn’t laugh.

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it.” His arms wrap around you and you’re pulled into a crushing hug. “If I could take all the pain for you, I would.” You lean into your dad’s arms. 

“Who’s to say I want you in pain?” 

“It’s my job to protect you kiddo. You’ve had enough pain. If I want to shoulder it, I should be allowed to.” You rub over the overpatch making sure it’s holding as he talks.

“Or neither of us could hurt and we could finish the best movie of all time.” You say as you hit the buttons to start the warm up period.

“What’s your number?” You shrug.

“Takes two hours to warm up. Testing kit is in my room.” Tony reaches for the drawer in the table. “Last I looked I was solid 180s. I’m fine.”

“You start feeling shaky or anything-”

“We’ll both be shocked, but yes I’ll let you know.” You look at Peter. “You going to stand for the rest of the night?” Tony’s just glad he didn’t jump onto the walls or worse the ceiling. That would have blown the whole Spider-Man thing. Instead he stays focused on the feeling of having you in his arms as Chilly Down starts to play again. He’s a little surprised that Labyrinth is your favorite movie, but he’ll take learning anything about you that he can. And this is one of those little moments that Pepper was talking about you sharing with him. So as the puppets dance around the screen, Tony’s arm holds you closer. You don’t even look up as you scoot closer and lean against his shoulder. 

As she walks back in from the kitchen, Pepper snaps a picture of you and Tony from behind the couch. The sight of you curled into his arms is something that he will want forever, but this moment, she wants to stay in as well. Seeing Tony as a dad- it makes her love him that much more.

After last night, Peter doesn’t expect to be back at the tower so soon, especially after spending two days in the lab last week with Mr. Stark, but they’re finally making progress on the new webbing solution, and Mr. Stark said “why don’t you come over tomorrow to keep working on it Pete?” And Peter wasn’t going to turn down the chance to work with Mr. Stark, or a chance to get to see you more. But what he wasn’t expecting to see when he entered the tower was you dancing around the kitchen as you cleaned it. Peter was used to doing chores, sure, what teenager wasn’t? But he never would have though Tony Stark one to make his kids clean house to earn their keep. Honestly, he would have thought Tony Stark would have had someone, or even a robot, to clean for him. However you didn’t seem that worried about cleaning. 

“Hey Y/N.”

“Hey Parker. You’re practically living here these days.” You look stunning, even though you’re just in weekend clothing of a tie-dyed shirt with the Mystery Machine printed on it that says Scooby Doo underneath, a pair of jean shorts, and your hair pulled up into a ponytail with a blue scrunchy.

“Your dad and I are trying to finish up a project.”

“Must be important for you to be giving up a Saturday to get it done.” You laugh as you pour some powder cleaner on the counter top before running a sponge over top it. You’re not on the wrong path. The new webbing solution is pretty important. 

“The paparazzi would lose their mind if they knew Y/N Stark spends her Saturdays doing chores like the rest of us peasants.”

“Celebrities, they’re just like us.” You smirk. “Unless you’re planning on grabbing a sponge and joining in, you should probably head on down to the lab.”

“See you later Y/N.” You smile as Peter heads out of the kitchen, letting the music of your playlist take over as you keep cleaning. Focusing on something other than the essay you don’t want to write for your science class is nice. Also it seems like no one has cleaned the kitchen since the fight between your dad and the rogue Avengers. Pulling the burners grates off the stove, you see grease and crumbs that could have been easier to clean had someone wrapped the grease trap with tin foil. So it’s time for some tender loving care and jamming out to Carry On My Wayward Son. 

“Hi Mr. Stark.” Peter says, not wanting to surprise Tony as he walks into the lab.

“Morning Pete.” Tony takes a sip of the coffee cup to his right as he looks over the numbers on his tablet. “Did you manage to get any sleep last night? Karen said you went patrolling after you left here.”

“I got some sleep.” Peter nods. “Did you? I feel like your whole family has been up since I left last night?”

“We all slept. I think Y/N might still be in bed. She was when I came down here.”

“No, she’s up, working on her chores.” Tony turns from the numbers cranking in front of him, to look at Peter with confusion marking his face.

“She doesn’t have chores.”

“Well she’s upstairs cleaning the kitchen. I just thought she was working on chores, but I guess I guessed wrong.”

“We have people that we can call in. I don’t know why she’s cleaning… You mean like with a sponge and wipes and such?” Tony asks, trying to clarify and Peter nods his head. “She must have her reasons. But I’m not making her do it.”

“I believe you.” Tony turns from the datapad or- as Peter had started calling it since Tony had started tracking Y/N’s blood sugar on it as well- his Dad-apad, 

“How do you feel about working on one of the cars while these numbers crunch? We can’t continue on the aspects to add until they finish crunching.”

“Sure Mr. Stark.”

“You can call me Tony kid.”

“I know Mr. Stark.” Tony rolls his eyes at that.

“FRI, turn on Tony Stark Can Rot.” Peter is confused at the name of the playlist, but the songs that start playing sound somewhat familiar. From what he had seen in his time working in the lab, Tony wasn’t one to name his playlists, but to name one so angrily towards himself seems unlike Tony. But Tony doesn’t seem to think anything of it as he climbs under the side of his Audi and calls out for some tools. Peter hands him the wrench and falls into the habit of working with Tony until Friday calls out a while later.

“Boss, Y/N just asked Miss Potts where the first aid kit is.” Tony goes still. 

“Stay here.” He leaves the lab without more than the two words. 

It was an injury that only you were capable of. How does someone get hurt cleaning? And a paper cut, if you could call it that, on tin foil nonetheless. You didn’t want to bother your dad when he was busy on a project with Peter. Pepper was the easier option since you just don't know where bandages are kept. “FRIDAY can you ask Pepper where we keep a first aid kit?”

A moment later, Pepper is coming down the stairs with one in hand. “We keep a few all over the house. This is from the upstairs bathroom. What did you do?”

“Paper-ish cut.” You should her, removing the paper towel you’re holding over the cut that is bleeding still. “The tin foil attacked me.” You explain as she looks at the small cut.

“Why are we needing first aid kits? No one should be getting hurt.” Your dad’s voice comes from the doorway to the lab and you roll your eyes. Of course FRIDAY had told him. 

“Tattletale.” You mutter as Pepper wraps the bandage around your finger.

“If people are asking for first aid kits, I want to know.” Tony defends himself.

“I cut myself on tin foil. It was stupid. I’m fine.”

“Ok, then do you want to explain what’s with the deep cleaning? Peter literally thought I gave you chores. Which is not something that I would make you do. Plus you know we have people who can be called in to clean right?”

“That such a spoiled right person thing to say, you know that right?” You say with a roll of your eyes. 

“Avoiding the question.”

“Actually I’m avoiding a biology paper. So I figured cleaning would be a good avoidance technique.”

“Next time you’re avoiding SI business, can you take a page out of her book?” Pepper asks Tony in a teasing tone. 

“I build things. It’s productive in it’s own way.”

“You destroy things. That’s different.” Pepper points out. “What’s your biology paper about?” 

“Some life cycle bullshit or something.” You turn back to scrub the counter. “I’ve dealt with enough of it that I don’t want to do it. But my choice is write a paper or build a model and that’s not my go to.” You choose to not explain that it’s literally over the one life cycle of yours that doesn’t work.

“You have a choice to build something and you went against that? Pep, we need to get her tested to make sure she’s my kid.”

“Tony, she literally acts and looks like you. I don’t need to test her DNA to know she’s yours.” 

“Is everything ok? Someone dying?” Peter’s voice comes.

“No one’s dying. Just my dad overreacting.” You say. “He could have gone back to the lab ages ago.”

“Why don’t you come with?” Tony suggests and both you and Peter look at him in surprise. However only you voice your surprise. Peter is trying to figure out how to hide Spider-Man if you come down to the lab.

“Why?”

“Because there’s plenty of stuff down there to make a- if I say so myself- bitchin’ science project.”

“But I can also just stay up here and write a paper after I avoid it for a few more hours?”

“Which project is it?” Peter asks, trying to figure out who you have for your science this year.

“Never said I was doing the project.”

“No one ever chooses to do the paper when they have the option to do a project instead.”

“There’s always the chance to be the first.”

“But you’ll score higher with a project. At least there’s the chance to anyway, depending on who your teacher is.”

“Shah.”

“Mr. or Mrs.?” Peter asks.

“Why does that make a difference?”

“Because they grade completely differently.” Peter explains. “Mrs does great experiments but is a harsher grader.”

“Well, I have Mr. Shah so what does that mean?”

“It means you better get started on your project. He hates papers.” Peter says with a tight smile.

“Ugh. But writing a paper all about me was going to be a sinch.” Three pairs of eyes fall on you in confusion. “Endocrine system. Explaining how pretending to be one sucks. It was going to be a great paper.”

“Isn’t there a company that’s in the process of trying to make a closed loop system?” Peter asks, which makes you nod hesitantly. “Why not make a project showing the differences between a closed loop system and what you’re currently doing? Explain why a closed loop system would be so much better.”

“Sorry, maybe I’m the only one lost here-” Pepper starts to ask.

“You’re not.” Tony interrupts.

“-But what’s a closed loop system?” Pepper continues.

“It's a system where basically Wallace and Queenie would basically be able to talk to each other. So if I started rising too high Queenie would be able to give me more insulin. Or vice versa, if I go too low, Wallace would tell Queenie and she would stop giving me insulin. It would hopefully prevent me from going too low or too high as often. Or going low enough that I’d need a glucagon again.”

“How far out are they from that being made?” Tony asks.

“Few years at least. The couple companies that are doing this haven’t even made it to human testing yet.”

“I want-” Pepper interrupts him, already knowing where he’s going.

“Tony, no. SI is not-” Tony cuts her off.

“Why not?” Pepper doesn’t have an answer ready and he plows ahead. “It’s for her. And millions of others. I don’t want to see her in the medbay ever again. Not because I had to stab her with a needle due to her sugars being so low she could die. So why can’t we add this to things we’re working on?”

“Well for one thing, we don’t have the technology to do anything diabetes related.”

“Dad, you’re jumping into something you know nothing about.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time. Wallace and Queenie, what are their companies' names?”

“Why are you going to buy them out?”

“I’m going to see about working with them.”

“Dexcom and Tandem.” You knew there was no stopping him once he was in this mindset. SI was going to be joining the insulin supply game. Especially since Pepper didn’t seem to be trying to stop him either. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes I do!” Tony’s voice explodes from him. “Iron Man can do a lot of things. But I can’t keep your blood sugar stable. I can’t keep it from dropping too low or rising too high. I can’t do anything but watch when you’re shaking from not enough sugar or look like you’re going to fall asleep during the day after you’ve been up all night from your sugars keeping you awake all hours of the night. I can’t take away the pain when your sensor hits a nerve and I can’t take away all the times you have to plunge a needle into your skin to draw blood sample after blood sample. I can’t stop any of that. But this? Science related stuff. This is something I can do for you. I can put the best technology on the market. I can help make sure that your devices are the best possible things so that you have the least amount of pain possible. That’s what I can do for you since I can’t do anything else for you.” As his voice rips out of him, voicing all the things he’s never felt like he could say to you, you inch closer to him. You’ve only had him in your life for a few months now, but you know what you’ve been told is true. Tony loves you a lot. He takes a breath, trying to calm down from his explosion of words. Your arms wrap around him, breathing in the smell you’ve started to associate with your dad. “Kiddo, I…”

“I love you.” You breathe in the smell of the motor oil from the cars he probably had been working on with Peter, the smell of the cologne that he must only lightly mist on because it only lingers along his shirt, and the smell of what must be an aftershave from the almost minty scent to it. 

“I love you too kiddo. So much.” The words are spoken softly, left on a puff of air into your hair. His own arms wrap around you, getting slightly tangled in your pump tubing, but ignoring it as he holds you close. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Better than Iron Man?” You tease.

“So much better than Iron Man.”

Across the kitchen, Pepper and Peter are watching the interaction. Peter can’t help but whisper the question he can no longer hold back. “Y/N has gone low enough to need a glucagon?” Pepper nods slowly. Peter must have been doing some research about your condition.

“It’s only happened once since she moved in. But it scared him. Worse than anything Iron Man related.”

“From what I was reading, that’s supposed to be a, like, last resort type thing.”

“It was a last resort thing. I wasn’t there when he gave it to her. But from what I heard, she was unconscious, having seizures and very low.”

“Could she have died?” Peter doesn’t want to know the answer, but feels like he needs to know.

“If she had been alone, possibly. But she wasn’t. She was with Steve, Clint, and Natasha, who then called Tony.”

“So this was before…” Peter trails off, knowing that Y/N only knows so much about what happened in Germany. Pepper nods. 

“She hasn’t seen them since. But I know they would do anything for her again. If Tony would let them near her.” Peter nods, knowing from spending time with Tony and you that Tony would let the world burn if it saved you. You are his child. Which made the feelings Peter has for you harder to manage, because Tony would murder Spider-Man before letting his daughter near the superhero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The day totally got away from me, but the chapter is still going to be up on Sunday like I try to do! Let me know what you think!


	13. Chapter 13

Pepper promised not to show your dad the permission slip. You didn’t want him to appear out of nowhere during the field trip and ruin everything. The fact that your name on the building wasn’t enough of a permission slip alone apparently, so that was where Pepper came into everything. You had her sign the slip and then turned it into Mr. Shah. 

“So the Avengers won’t be there when we visit?” Betty asks you as you and Astrid walk towards the bus with her. 

“If you’re asking if Bruce will be there, the answer is no. I haven’t seen him since basically you guys came over for dinner that first time. He’s off world or something.” You file into the back of the bus, before you see that it’s not only your class getting on the bus. “Who’s the other class that’s joining us?”

“Mr. Harrington- Teaches junior sciences and decathlon. I think it’s the decathlon team that’s coming with though. Yeah, has to be. Look there’s Liz!” Betty waves to Liz through the window. Decathlon, that means…

“Fancy meeting you here Y/N.” Peter’s voice comes from the seat in front of you. “Stark Industries? Didn’t think you would even be interested in visiting.”

“I thought it would be an enrichment opportunity. See what the public sees Parker.” You smirk at him. “What about you? You going to give the tour?” Before he can respond, a voice from a few seats in front of him calls towards him.

“Penis Parker, you harassing Y/N Stark? Just wait until we get to the SI and her dad sees that you follow her around like a lost puppy. He won’t want trash near her. He’ll want people of his own caliber near her.”

“Just ignore him.” Peter pleads softly. He should have guessed that a Stark doesn’t walk away from a problem though.

“Eugine right?” You ignore the fact that everyone calls him Flash. He looks up at being addressed by a Stark. “I don’t think my dad would appreciate you calling his personal intern Penis. But I can check with him. In the meanwhile, I’d like to keep garbage away from me. And by that, I mean you.” Flash goes quiet and turns around in his seat.

“That probably will just make him worse.” Peter says, looking over his seat as he talks to you. 

“And if it does, I’ll call a few Avengers to deal with him. Maybe I’ll get Dad to call Spider-Man. I hear Eugine is a huge fan. Wouldn’t it be great to see him get a talking to from him?”

“Sure, but I don’t think Spider-Man does that kind of thing.” The kid sitting next to Peter glances at him, trying to get an answer from him that you don’t understand.

“I’m Y/N.” You offer a hand to him, trying to figure out who this other kid is.

“Ned. I know who you are. You’re like all Peter talks about. Well like besides Mr. Stark and like-” Peter’s hand goes over Ned’s mouth.

“That’s not at all true. And I think you’ve said enough Ned.”

“I’d love to hear more.” You say with a smirk. Peter talks about you? “What else does he say?” Peter shakes his head at Ned.

“Is it true that you know the Avengers?” Ned changes the subject.

“Yeah? They lived at the tower with us for a while. Then they didn’t. Now we don’t live at the tower.” You explain with a shrug. 

“So who’s the best Avenger?” 

“Don’t I have to say Iron Man by default?” 

“No. You could say anyone. Like Black Widow, or Spider-Man, or even Falcon.”

“Spider-Man isn’t an Avenger. He works on his own?” You say, the question in your voice.

“Really? I thought he joined the Avengers from time to time, but maybe I heard wrong. You know news can be made up. Who’s to say what’s true and what’s not these days?” Peter elbows Ned to try and get him to shut up.

“I haven’t heard anything from the Avengers about him joining. I teased my dad that Spider-Man would yeet him off a building. Spider-Man is probably too cool to be an Avenger anyway.”

“I think Spider-Man would join the Avengers if given the chance.” Peter throws out quickly. 

“I’ll tell my dad you think so.”

“Is your dad going to join the tour?” Astrid asks from across the aisle.

“God I hope not. I had Pepper sign the permission slip so that I wouldn’t have to tell him I was coming.”

“Why would him knowing you’re coming to the tower be a bad thing?” Betty asks.

“Because, you know how bad he can be when you guys just come over for dinner? Well imagine him doing that in front of our entire class plus the decathlon team. It would be awful.” You turn to look Peter in the eyes. “If you text him and tell him we’re coming I swear I will end our snapchat streak.”

Peter throws his hands up. “I didn’t mention it. I honestly was more worried about him embarrassing me if he knew I was coming and I’m not even his kid.” 

“Good.” Your bus pulls up in front of the building you had called home until you had moved into the brownstone in Queens. As you file off the bus, a very familiar voice gives instructions.

“Everyone will need to wear their visitor badges at all times. At the end of the tour you will return them. So do not lose them. Also you will go through the scanners before you are able to enter the upper floors.” Happy hasn’t spotted you or Peter near the back of the group after getting off the bus in front of the tower.

“Do you think I get a visitor badge?” You whisper to Peter.

“I hope so. Or else Happy might have to kick you from the building.” Peter whispers back. 

“That would be the best thing for the paparazzi to see. Head of Security kicks Tony Stark’s child out of SI.” You say with a laugh. “Pepper would never get home tonight having to deal with that press.”

“Ok, who are our two trouble makers in the back who aren’t paying attention?” Happy’s voice raises and you and Peter are suddenly the center of attention. “Should have guessed it. You two better have your badges, I only have visitor badges for non staff and family.”

“Damn Happy I thought I’d get to be a visitor.”

“Your name is on the building kid. You don’t get to be a visitor.” Happy kids with a smile then returns to his no nonsense face. “Just like airport security. Bags and anything in your pockets go through the scanners. Then you pass through the metal detectors. Peter, Y/N- go through your normal entrance.” There is a separate scanner for those who have special clearance, limited to the Avengers, Pepper, Happy, you, and a few others that you don’t know of off the top of your head. It’s a quick body scanner done by FRIDAY as you enter through a door. Just to appease Happy you clip the badge that you never really need to wear since you are never really at the tower onto the bottom of your forest green cardigan. Peter has pulled his out too and clips it to his decathlon blazer.

“Y/N, Peter. Shouldn’t you be at school?” FRIDAY’s voice speaks as you both walk through the scanner.

“Field trip FRI.” You use your dad’s nickname for FRIDAY, not even realizing you did. You walk over to meet back with the group, hoping that this field trip goes off without a hitch.

Up on the sixty seventh floor, Tony is jamming out to Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC as it plays off of your playlist that he’s grown to just ignore the name of it. He’s learned that Tony Stark Can Rot is your upbeat playlist while I Hate My Life is your more slow music. But both have good music on them, ignoring the couple of Taylor Swift songs that shuffle on every now and then. And it makes him feel closer to you, so he’s grown used to playing one of the two while he works, especially when you’re at school. On his datapad, he’s running the numbers for a new attempt at the closed loop system. He wants to nail this for you. But a couple of the components just aren’t working.

“Boss, Y/N is 75 and dropping.”

“Text her and see if she’s correcting.” When you’re at school, there’s not too much he can do but wait for a response.

“She’s on the 34th floor. Should I have someone take her a snack?”

“Y/N is here? At the tower? But it’s a school day?”

“She and Peter are on a field trip.” Both his kids are here and no one told him? Well, maybe a break would be better right now.

“I’ll take her a snack.”

“Here we have…” You can’t fully focus on the voice speaking in front of you. You know you should check your blood sugar. The lack of focus usually means you’re either dropping low or running really high. With all the walking around the tower, your bet is dropping.

“You ok?” Peter asks from next to you. Though he can’t tell anyone, his spider sense is on high alert. And you’re not looking too good. Your face is pale and your eyes don’t seem to be focusing. Plus your hands seem to be shaking ever so slightly. You almost seem to be shifting in your spot and he wants to reach out and grab you.

“I got this one kid.” A very familiar voice speaks from behind the two of you, but you don’t even react to it. 

“Mr. Stark I think she’s low.” Peter starts to say but Tony wraps an arm around you and starts to lead you to a chair.

“I know. FRIDAY told me.” Betty hears Tony’s voice from the middle of the group and pulls Astrid towards it.

“Is Y/N ok?”

“‘M fine.” You slur ever so slight. Tony screws the cap off the apple juice he grabbed from the kitchen on his way down here.

“She’s just low. She’ll be fine as soon as she has some sugar.” He offers you the open juice. Your hand reaches to take it, but he even notices the shaking as you try to take it. “Bambina, you’re ok. You just need to drink.” You take a couple hesitant sips. “Why didn’t you treat already?”

“Didn’t feel it.”

“I know you don’t feel your lows. That's why you have Wallace.” Your hypo-unawareness was nothing of a secret. 

“Didn’t feel Wallace.” You shrug as you drink some more juice.

“Is that Tony Stark?” A voice from the other side of the room says. Peter notes that it’s Flash, but says nothing, more worried about you. Tony and you don’t even hear it. However, Mr. Shah notices you sitting in the chair with Tony basically holding you.

“Is everything alright Y/N?” He asks, trying to not act like being around Tony Stark is as big of a deal as it is.

“‘M low.” You say.

“Drink some more. You’ll feel better if you do bambina.” Tony doesn’t even look up at Mr. Shah. He’s too focused in on you.

“Don’t want it.” Your stubbornness with your lows sneaks in.

“I know, but it’s either this or we head over to the medbay and Dr. Cho can give you an IV.”

“Fineeeeeeeee.” You draw out the last syllable as you force some more juice down. 

“Mr. Stark, I’m Flash Thompson-”

“If you don’t get out of my face, Happy will escort you out of the tower before you can say Avengers.” Tony snaps, not caring who this kid is. Right now his only thought is getting your numbers high enough for you to be back to his normally sarcastic but loving kid. “FRI what’s Y/N’s number?”

“68 and dropping still.”

“Pete, run down the hall and grab something with carbs. Cookies, chips, soda, candy. Anything.”

“Of course M-Tony.” Peter would normally just call him Mr. Stark, but since Flash was just shut down, he wants to show him how close they are. Then he remembers what he was just asked and basically sprints down the hall to where SI keeps a bunch of snacks on hand. He grabs the first things he sees that are high carb- some chocolate chip cookies and a packet of Skittles. He also grabs a soda at the last second to be safe. Making his way back to where you sit, leaning against Tony’s shoulder he offers the snacks to you. “Which sounds better, cookies, Skittles, or soda?”

“Death.” You mumble.

“Not an option on the table kiddo. So how about you take one of the three Pete offered?” You fling a hand out and snatch one of the three not really caring. “Mr. Shah, I’ll keep Peter here in case I need him to grab more things for Y/N, but I don’t want the rest of the group to lose out on their tour. We can catch up with you when Y/N is back up in range.”

“If you’re sure Mr. Stark.”

“It’s not the first time we’ve had to deal with stubborn blood sugars.” Tony says before turning his attention to the group as you munch on the cookies you don’t really want to eat. “Lilly, keep going with the tour. I’ll keep Peter and Y/N. They’ll catch up.”

“Sure Mr. Stark. Let’s continue on this way.” The actual intern leads the group on as Mr. Harrington, Mr. Shah and the rest of the students follow. Astrid and Betty’s eyes trail behind, watching Y/N, but they know your dad won’t let anything happen to you. After the group is out of the room, Tony’s attention stays on you, but his question turns to Peter.

“So I’m Tony now?”

“Uh not if you don’t want to be Mr. Stark.”

“No take backs. I heard it. The group heard it. Happy probably heard it down on the first floor. I just was wondering what changed.”

“Eugine.” You mumble over a mouthful of cookies. 

“Who’s Eugine?” Tony asks you.

“Flash. Thompson. That kid that tried to introduce himself while Y/N was crashing.” Peter clarifies as you open the soda that your dad doesn’t allow in the house. Will he buy it if you’re in the city and crashing, sure. But will he stock it in the house? Never. However, after growing up around the sticky drink, you’ve missed the taste. “He doesn’t want to believe that I actually intern with you.”

“So calling me Tony?”

“You called me Pete. It felt right.”

“Well if it feels right, keep doing it.” Tony’s attention goes back to you. “How you feeling kiddo?” 

“Like death microwaved over.”

“FRI what’s her number?”

“68 and stable.”

“Well that’s better than dropping still.” Tony says. He looks at the soda in your hand. “I think that’s probably not needed.” You hold it away from his outstretched hand.

“I’m still low.”

“That is full of crap. Let me get you a green juice or something?” You scrunch your face.

“I’ll pass. You already make me drink one at breakfast. I only get these when I’m low.” You say before taking another sip. Peter should be surprised, but the part of him that pays attention isn’t that surprised. He’s never seen soda around the Tower when you lived there or at the brownstone when he’s at the labs. “Do I really have to catch back up with the tour group? It’s actually kind of boring.” You ask.

“I can see if you can sit in with Pep. It would make more sense for you than going on the public tour anyway.”

“Why with Pepper? Can’t I just go chill out upstairs or something?”

“You’re supposed to take over the company one day. If I’m pulling you from the field trip, I’m going to make sure you’re still getting an educational day. At least if I leave you with Pepper, you’re still learning stuff.” You’re hesitant. Sure it’s years away from the day you have to make an actual decision, but you have no real plans to take over the company. But a day spent with Pepper sounds more fun than going on a tour that’s 100% science based anyway. “Or,” Your dad adds sensing some hesitation, “You can come work with me on some stuff.”

“Like in the lab?” You and Peter ask at the same time.

“That is where I work on stuff.”

“I would mess everything up.” You reply honestly.

“Can I come work?” Peter asks, hoping to get out of the tour he doesn’t need either.

“And take you away from learning about what SI is working on? No. Kid, I want to see what you think of what we’re working on. So let’s get you back with the group. Y/N, I’ll let Mr. what’s his name-”

“Mr. Shah.”

“Mr. Shah, know that I’m pulling you for official Stark business and then take you to Pep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who updated on the day she's supposed to! Let me know what you think! Next chapter will go up this weekend if I can actually keep track of the days of the week lol :D


	14. Chapter 14

“So is this what you do every day?” You ask Pepper as you sit in the chair next to her desk. Your hand fidgets with the medical alert bracelet on your right wrist, needing to fiddle with something.

“Goodness no. Every day changes. But it’s a lot of meetings and lunches, paperwork, press conferences, things like that. And about 90% of it is redirecting your dad when he gets on a tangent.” Pepper says with a smile. 

“What…” You let your sentence drift off, not wanting to voice your question.

“What….?” She prods slightly, but doesn’t push like your dad would.

“What if I decide I don’t want to run the company? Like everyone keeps telling me it’s my name on the building and stuff but what if I don’t want to ascend to my birth right or whatever?”

“I’m not a Stark.” Pepper states.

“Yeah but you and my dad are basically going to get married one day and then you will be.” It’s not that much of a secret that your dad wants to marry Pepper, he just hasn’t asked yet.

“Well... yes, but that’s not the point I was trying to make. The point is that you don’t have to be a Stark to run the company. When you turn twenty one, should you decide that running the company is not for you, you would just pick another CEO, or I can keep running the company if that is where we are depending on what happens seven years from now.”

“Would my dad hate it if I didn’t step into it?”

“You know your dad chose to step away from running the company right?” You nod. It was big news when Tony Stark had stepped down from CEO. Nana and Pops had talked about it for like a week when it happened. “He wouldn’t judge you or love you any less for choosing to do the same thing. He wants you to be happy. First and foremost. He’s already looking towards which schools have the best English Lit programs because he knows that his pull at MIT is going to have nothing for you. He doesn’t expect you to be him. He wants you to be better than him.”

“But he’s Tony Stark. He’s Iron Man. How can I be better than that?” You ask.

“Quite easily actually. Tony Stark, Iron Man, psshh. They’ve let a lot of people down.” Tony’s voice enters the room. “Honestly there’s probably even one of those Buzzfeed articles about the top ten ways that Tony Stark has let down people.”

“Tony.” Pepper’s voice alone tells you she disagrees, but Tony ignores it and continues.

“But you, Y/N Stark, you have the chance to do anything in the world. And you will make me a proud dad by doing that. You don’t have to do anything with the company if you don’t want to and I will be completely happy with that you know why? Because you are my daughter. And that’s the only thing I need to make me happy.” He places a kiss on the top of your head. “That and doing whatever it takes to keep Pep here happy.” He smiles at her across the desk.

“What would keep me happy is if you actually met your deadlines.” She teases. 

“I’m right on schedule. Ahead some might even say.”

“Some might, but would I?” She raises an eyebrow as she pushes some papers onto a different pile.

“I’d rather not sleep on the couch tonight so I’m going to go with I’m on schedule today.” Pepper rolls her eyes at that. 

“So then, what made you come all the way up to the office that you despise?”

“Other than the fact that my two favorite people are here?”

“You sound like you’re just trying to distract Pepper, Dad.” You tease him, knowing he had to have some motive, because Pepper was right. Dad hated the CEO office, even if the two of you were in it.

“I was making sure the two of you take a break for lunch. Especially since your class is heading down for lunch and I figured since your friends are there, you might want to join them.”

“And because my friends are there, you want to join them and embarrass me.”

“I’m just making sure you eat lunch.” He throws his hands up, trying to show you he comes in peace.

“You hardly ever eat lunch when you’re supposed to.” Pepper points out, but she knows that keeping you on a schedule is important with keeping your basals on a good schedule. “But Tony does make a good point that we should get some lunch for you. And how often do we get to have lunch as a family?”

“You don’t have like a lunch meeting or something?” You ask, surprised that Pepper isn’t running off to some fancy luncheon.

“Not today. Today I can take an actual lunch with my two favorite Starks.” She smiles standing up and walking to the other side of her desk. Tony’s arm wraps around her waist, pulling her in close. He places a kiss on her cheek.

“Lunch is my treat.” Tony teases. “Let’s go!”

“Lunch is free for any employees or family of the employees.” Pepper explains rolling her eyes as the three of you walk towards the elevator. 

“FRI take us to the cafeteria.”

“Sure thing boss.” The elevator takes you down the twenty floors and as you walk out the doors you see your friends sitting at tables.

“I’ll get you food. Go sit with your friends.” Tony kisses the top of your head as he walks over to get food with Pepper. You make your way over to where Astrid, Betty, Liz, Ned, Peter, and a girl that you think her name is Michelle sit. There’s still a couple open seats at the table so your dad and Pepper will be able to join too.

“Y/N!” Betty and Astrid call your name out as you sit down.

“Are you ok?” Betty’s concern is voiced quickly.

“I’m fine, I came back into range before Peter joined back up with the group.” You explain taking the empty seat next to Peter, who already knew all of this.

“Then why didn’t you come back to the group? Your dad told Mr. Shah there were important Stark matters.”

“I’m spending the rest of the field trip with Pepper. Dad thinks it makes more sense for me to learn about what she does since I’m supposed to take over the company one day then to learn the public tour side of things.” You shrug. “Although I’m not sure how much of Pepper’s job is public knowledge so I’m not sure what my report about what I learned at SI will be about.”

“Just take a page out of your dad’s twitter and write you know who I am. Short, sweet and to the point.” Michelle says not even looking up from her book.

“I think that would be hilarious but I don't think I’d pass with that. And I need a passing grade so I don’t have to take biology over again.” You explain. “I’m Y/N by the way.”

“My friends call me MJ.” The dark haired girl explains.

“I thought you didn’t have any friends?” Ned questions.

“She has at least one.” You defend quickly, sensing something about this girl that you like. MJ and Ned both look up at you, but Peter just shakes his head like he should have seen this coming. What he didn’t see coming, was Tony and Pepper coming to sit with a group of teens. 

Tony sits in the seat next to you, placing a tray of food in front of you, before acknowledging the silence that has fallen over the table. “Yes yes I know it is shocking. Pepper Potts, CEO. She is just as amazing in person and you think she would be.” He flashes a smile at the table and you roll your eyes.

“I think you all probably know my obnoxious dad. And this, as he mentioned is Pepper. She is amazing.” You can’t help but agree with your dad on that one. “Dad, Pepper, you know Betty, Astrid, and Peter of course. Then we have Liz, Ned, and MJ.” You gesture around the table before finally looking at the food in front of you. Pasta with spinach and cheese, some fruit, a brownie, and… “Another green juice?” You look at your dad.

“Chef Louis makes the best green juice.” You dad says taking a sip of his own.

“Good for him. I already had my one for the day.”

“Think of it as balancing out the soda from earlier.”

“It wasn’t like I went out of my way to have a soda. I was dying.”

“And now we’re going to give your body something better.” You roll your eyes. 

“Pepper help me out?” You plead.

“He’s pretty set on this one.” Pepper says as she lifts her own glass from the other side of Tony. “This one tastes different than the ones he makes in the mornings though.”

“You know I thought the paparazzi was the worst part of being a Stark. But it’s the fucking green juice obsession in this family.” There’s a burst of laughter from next to you. “Something funny Parker?” 

“Absolutely nothing funny Y/N.” He says lifting a soda to his own lips.

“You not going to make your intern get on the green juice trend?” You ask your dad.

“He’s not my kid. You are.”

“I’ll trade you.” You offer the glass to Peter.

“If you give her the glass that has as much sugar as a Snicker’s, I’ll ban you from all labs for a week.” Tony’s voice drops an octave.

“You not going to just blast him with your gauntlet?” You tease.

“That’s saved for bad guys and boyfriends.” Betty and Astrid look at you with a look that you can read to see that they understand what you meant about trying to get a Homecoming date now.

“See if I tell you when I get a boyfriend then.”

“Remind me to tell FRIDAY to lock you in the brownstone until you're 25 then.” Tony teases back.

“Pepper’ll save me.” You say, sure that Pepper will reign him in before he could even get this far. 

“I got your back.” She responds with a smile. As you put the carbs into Queenie, the conversation picks up around you. Your dad starts talking to Peter about some missing part of a calculation for one of the many projects they were working on. Betty and Astrid are talking to Pepper about what it’s like to be CEO and you’ve fallen into listening to your two worlds falling back into one. You even take a sip of the green juice and shouldn’t be surprised that it’s not that bad. To be honest, it’s even better than the one you get in the mornings. But you won’t let your dad know that. But of course he notices anyway.

“Told you it was good.”

“Never said it was good. It just didn’t kill me.”

“Sure kiddo. Whatever you say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who actually remembered it's the weekend and to upload lol! Let me know what you think!


	15. Chapter 15

Peter had been acting weird lately. You had seen him at the brownstone when he worked with your dad in the lab or at school occasionally, but it was almost like he was hiding something. Maybe it was just that he was overworked from interning with your dad and school, but there is still so much of Peter you don’t know about even from snapchatting him. You want to know more about him. Honestly you were falling hard for him, but this secret side to him made you wonder what all you didn’t know about him. He also hasn’t spent time with you outside of being at your house when he works with your dad. Sure, he keeps your snapchat streak going. But for being a friend of yours, you only see him in passing it feels like. And you hate it.

Tony had given Peter a stern talking to. Sure he loved Peter helping the little guy. And it wasn’t a talking to about cutting back hours in the suit or anything along those lines. No, Tony’s talking to was about Y/N. Peter was forbidden to tell you about his alter ego. Tony thought you already had enough targets on your back with being the heir to the Stark fortune and the possible heir to SI. Then there was the whole daughter of Iron Man aspect of it all. Being friends with Spider-Man, that was too much in Tony’s book. So he made Peter promise not to tell you. But you were slowly becoming one of his best friends. He was even shocked when you started making him, Ned, and MJ sit with some of the more popular people at lunch just because you wanted to be able to see him more during the school day. Even Liz Allan sat with you guys. And like sure, Peter knew her from decathlon, but if you weren’t here, she would probably be the one who Peter would be crushing on. But no one could compare when you were here. And that’s the problem. Now not only does he have a crush on you that wasn’t allowed, but he also wasn’t allowed to share the biggest part of his life with you.

“You listening Parker?” You call out across the lunch table.

“Zoned out.” Peter says with a shrug before taking a bite out of his school lunch. You on the other hand have a lunch that Pepper packed for you. Tony and her have been pretty strict about what foods you put in your mouth. No high fructose corn syrup, no excess food dyes, all organic, etc. Honestly it makes you roll your eyes since you grew up on free lunches at school, but you’ll take the homemade stuff since it comes with a love note from whoever made the lunch, which usually means Pepper, but every now and then there’s a note from your dad, which usually comes with a more eclectic lunch. But the notes are what matter more. You munch on a couple carrots with hummus as you watch Peter. You have a growing suspicion there’s something going on with Peter. 

Sure he spends a few days a week with your dad, but he’s been dropping out of everything else he does. You even heard rumors that he dropped out of robotics lab and marching band. Next you’ll be hearing from Betty that he’s dropping out of Decathlon and Liz will murder someone since Nationals is coming up. “I got to go to record announcements, I’ll catch up with you in biology?” Betty asks as she picks up her tray from the table. You nod as you take another bite of carrot. Betty had been picked to be one of the co hosts for the announcements, which normally isn’t given to freshmen, but it makes her super happy, so it makes you super happy. 

Across the lunch room, Liz is hanging up a banner for the upcoming dance. “So are we all going to go as a group?” Astrid asks.

“Honestly, who knows if my dad will even let me out of the house.” You answer honestly.

“Why wouldn’t he?” Peter asks at the mention of your dad.

“Because he’s kind of a control freak when it comes to me, remember?” You motion down to your lunch. “This isn’t Delmars but I can promise you it’s organic. Also it has the carb counts written on the containers as if I haven’t been carb counting since I was seven.”

“So he’s over protective.” Ned throws out. “But it’s homecoming. Doesn’t he want you to get the high school experience?”

“I’m pretty sure the times I've mentioned dating he threatened to have FRIDAY lock me in the tower until I was 25. He seemed  _ really _ chill with the idea of that high school experience. Plus no one asked me anyway. And there’s all the moving day stuff happening that weekend anyway. It wouldn’t be the biggest deal for me to miss one high school dance.” 

“But it’s our freshman year homecoming! We can go as a group!” Astrid pleads. “No one has asked me either. I’ll be your date.” She teases you. “Plus it means we can go dress shopping with Betty since she got asked.”

“Betty got asked?”

“This morning. Marcus asked her.”

“No.”

“Yes.” Astrid’s smile takes over her face and suddenly you’re making plans for a dance you didn’t think you’d be attending. While you and Astrid talk about tentative plans for shopping for dresses, Peter wonders if asking you to go to homecoming as a friend would break Tony’s rules. Throughout the day, the conversation from lunch sticks with him. He knows that some of Tony’s rules are too much for you since they happened relatively quickly for you. Can he do something about that for you?

Peter has a plan. It may not be the best plan, but hearing you mention Delmar’s at lunch makes him think you miss the shop too. Anyone who has lived in Queens for any period of time loves the place. Plus he’s heading over for lab time too. And seeing as you said that your dad basically allows you to go to school and back home, while that’s about it due to safety concerns, Peter has a pretty good idea of where you’ll be.

“What’s up Mr. Delmar?”

“Hey, Mr. Parker. Number five right?” Mr. Delmar asks as Peter places two bags of sour gummy worms on the counter.

“Yeah, and with pickles and can you smush it down real flat? Thanks. Also can I get a sandwich with all the veggies you have adding mustard and mayo?” Mr. Delmar looks at him strangely.

“Extra hungry today?”

“I have a friend I’m trying to surprise and she mentioned missing this shop.”

“Who is it?”

“Y/N Stark.”

“Y/N Y/L/N before she became a Stark right? You’ll surprise her alright. Let me make something I think she’ll like a little better ok?” Peter nods. Everyone has their classic Delmar sandwich, he shouldn’t be surprised you do too. “If you ever want to surprise her and I’m not here, get a grilled cheese adding tomato, spinach, and pickles. She’ll be your best friend forever.” Peter makes note of this while walking over to where Murph lays on the counter.

“Hey Murph.” Then he makes his way over to pay for the two sandwiches and waves to Mr. Delmar before walking out of the shop with the sandwiches in hand. From Delmar’s to the Stark brownstone, it takes about fifteen minutes by subway. Could he have caught a ride with Happy and you, sure, but he really wanted to get you Delmar’s. And it seems like it was an even better idea when he walks into the brownstone to the sound of Tony’s voice.

“You gotta eat something kiddo. You’re crashing.”

“I’ll figure something out. You’ve got lab time with Peter when he gets here. I’ll take care of my sugars.”

“How about a delicious treat you can only get in Queens?” Peter offers placing the bag in front of you.

“You went to Delmar’s without me?”

“I go to Delmar’s often. Best sandwiches in Queens and dare I say in New York.” You open the wrapper on the sandwich and you look up at him in surprise.

“How did you know what I get?”

“Had a good guess.”

“Mr. Delmar told you didn’t he?”

“He told me my real guess was way off.” You bite into the sandwich and smile as you chew. 

“This is what Queens was created for.”


	16. Chapter 16

You saw it trending on Twitter the next morning. Delmar’s had caught fire when someone robbed a bank across the street the night before. Apparently Mr. Delmar and Murph were ok, thanks to our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. But Delmar’s destroyed? This was basically the end of your existence until it was fixed. “My. Life. Is. Over.” You dramatically say before laying your head to rest on the table next to the stack of pancakes Pepper had placed on the table.

“Ok, Tony Jr., why is your life over?” Tony hears Pepper tease you as he comes down the stairs.

“Delmar’s was destroyed.”

“You’re giving her syrup and no green juice? This has to be fixed.” Tony says, ignoring the statement that came out of your mouth.

“I stand corrected, now my life is now over.” You don’t really mind the green juice all that much, but on a day like today you don’t have time for celery, apple and kale juice when the best sandwich shop in Queens is gone. “Dad, you have to fix it. This is an Iron Man level problem.”

Those words make Tony pause and look at his teenage daughter. You’ve never said anything is an Iron Man level problem before. “What am I missing here?” Tony glances at Pepper.

“Her favorite sandwich shop was destroyed last night.”

“My life is over until it’s fixed.”

“That sounds more like a Tony Stark could fix it problem than an Iron Man problem.”

“Well Iron Man could talk to Spider-Man and see why he couldn’t stop the bad guys from exploding it? Like what does Spider-Man have against Delmar’s?” Your hands throw dramatically outward as if they don’t understand why someone who is supposed to save the neighborhood would destroy a local legend.

“I don’t think Spider-Man hates Delmar’s. It was probably an accident.” He watches as you pull out your phone and snapchat one of the most dejected faces he’s ever seen you make. “Who are you messaging?” He can’t help but ask.

“Peter. He’s probably just as upset as I am. He loves that place.”

“Oh you have no idea kiddo.”

“Oh one more thing. Can I stay home from school?” You look up at your dad, pulling what you hope looks like puppy dog eyes.

“You don’t seem that upset, but let me hear your best reasons why you should be allowed to stay home.”

“Because I’m facing personal trauma?” You suggest and Tony stares at you for a moment before you admit, “Ok so it’s the Captain America Fitness Challenge in gym today and I reallllllllllllllly don’t want to do it.”

“I’m sorry, the what now?”

“The Captain America Fitness Challenge. It’s required by the state, but they named it before the Accords happened.” You still don’t fully know what happened, but you haven’t seen Steve since Germany so it can’t have been good. 

“No child of mine is participating-”

“You’re going to school. It’s just a fitness test.” Pepper cuts in. “If however your blood sugar isn’t in range during gym then go to the nurse. But do not do stuff to force it to fall.” She raises an eyebrow at you, knowing that being a child of Tony’s there was a chance you would do whatever it took to get out of it.

“And I’ll see you the day after tomorrow when I get back from India ok kiddo?”

“Why India?”

“People to see, things to do.” Your dad says as he kisses your head. “If it were up to me, there would be no Captain America anything.” He whispers to you and you smile. “Now eat your breakfast while I get you the healthier part of your breakfast.”

“Dad, I don’t have to have a green juice every morning.”

“The green juice is mandatory. The pancakes are optional.” You roll your eyes at your dad. 

“You guys are all invited tonight. My parents are going to be gone, but said we can have some fun. Plus Ned told us during gym that Peter knows Spider-Man from the Stark Internship, so Spider-Man might show up.” You almost choke on the sunbutter and jelly sandwich Pepper made you. 

“I’m sorry, you know Spider-Man from your internship with my dad?” Your eyes fall on Peter.

“Your dad told me not to mention it.”

“So you brought it up during gym class?” 

“Technically Ned did.” Peter says. Looking at your face he sees hints of betrayal and hurt etching your features. But the biggest image is the image of Tony in your features. Tony made him promise not to connect you and Spider-Man. “Y/N-”

“Have fun at the party with Spider-Man.” You throw your food back in your lunch box. “I forgot I need to take care of something.” You push away from the lunch table. So many thoughts are running through your mind. Why would your dad introduce Peter to Spider-Man and not you? He had introduced you to so many of the Avengers before everything went to shit. So why was Spider-Man any different? And now Peter and Spider-Man were good enough friends that he was willing to come to a high school party? You turn the corner to go to the library. You could at least hide there until the end of the lunch period. Now you have to deal with the stupid Captain America Fitness Challenge and this stupid Spider-Man bullshit.

**Y: so you introduced peter to spider-man?**

**T: Who’s saying I did?**

**Y: clearly peter. told a whole group of people that his friend spider-man, that he met through his internship with you, would come to a party tonight**

Tony runs a hand through his hair. What is Peter doing? The whole point of having a secret identity is not to be telling kids you were going to be showing up at a party. Does he think he’s a show pony now? Because that is the last thing that the Avengers are.

**T: So SM is a party trick now?**

**PP: y/n texted you**

**T: she seems to be pretty upset that I introduced you to SM before my own kid**

**PP: i can’t explain everything to her, so it was the easiest explanation.**

Your dad clearly isn’t going to respond, so instead you reach out to a number that hasn’t contacted you in nearly two months. But hopefully, she doesn’t let you down.

**Y: sos-are you in the city by chance?**

**N: You’re not trying to turn me in are you?**

**Y: i need someone to come rescue me from a really shit day at school.**

**N: I can be there in 30.**

“So you wanna tell me why I’m kidnapping you?” Natasha asks as she walks you out of school after signing you out for the day.

“You’re on my list of people allowed to pick me up from school. So it’s not kidnapping. It’s a recovery mission.” You quote her words from your first few days living with your father. 

“I see I taught you well.” Natasha smiles as you get into the black four door with her. “Where to?”

“Anywhere but here.” You answer honestly. “Where have you been?”

“Here and there. Been hiding for the most part.”

“Hiding from what?”

“People that don’t want me to be running around.”

“Is that why you’re blonde now?”

“One of the reasons. Do you not like it?”

“I like the red better.” You look out the window as she drives towards Manhattan. “Are you with Steve?”

“It’s probably better if I don’t say. Your dad and Steve aren’t on the best feet right now.”

“I could give a rats ass about what Daddy Dearest thinks.”

“I thought you and your dad were getting along. Literally all the conversations I had with him before I split off, he couldn’t stop mentioning you.”

“He’s part of the reason I left school today. That and the Captain America Fitness Challenge.”

“You didn’t want to take the Fitness Test?”

“Some of us are just normal humans, remember?”

“So am I.” Natasha turns onto a side street. 

“Yeah, but you’re a trained assassin. You could take and pass the fitness test with ease.”

“What happened with your dad?” Natasha changes the subject without acknowledging what you said about the fitness test.

“It’s stupid.” You cross your arms.

“Not stupid if it upset you.”

“You know the Spider-Man that’s been running around Queens?”

“Yeah.”

“My dad introduced him to his intern but won’t introduce him to me. Apparently his intern has met him enough times that Spider-Man is willing to stop by a party that one of our friends is throwing. And when I tried to talk to my dad about it, he just stopped responding like that would make it better.”

“Did you think that maybe your dad had reasons other than being mean or something like that for why he wouldn’t want you near another superhero?”

“Like what?”

“He feels like he puts you in danger all the time. Another superhero, more danger. That was the whole point of the Accords was keeping us in check. Keeping the normal,” She motions towards you, “people safe. So maybe he was hesitant to bring yet another superhero into your life, especially after a huge group of us superheroes went rogue on him. He loves you. He would literally do anything for you.”

“He wouldn’t let me skip the fitness challenge this morning.”

“He wasn’t going to let you skip school. To be honest maybe I shouldn’t have let you either, but I miss you.” 

“I miss you too Aunt Nat.” The words slip from your mouth before you can stop them. “You should come home.”

“I can’t until the Accords get sorted out. I’m considered a criminal right now.”

“Can we go to the compound? Just hang out there.”

“Your father will have a heart attack if you’re not home in two hours which is how long it will take to drive there.”

“I think he’s supposed to be leaving for an event out of town. A wedding or some other event out of the country. I just have to text Happy that I don’t need a ride.”

“Get the approval that I don’t have to take you home in the next couple hours and we can go hang out at the compound.” You can’t help but smile as you text Happy, saying that you are going to Betty’s house after school and a party at Liz’s that night so you won’t be home until the next day. He offers to pick you up, but you say you’ll be fine getting a ride home. “We’re all good.”

“And Tony won’t be at the compound right?”

“He’s heading to India for a wedding or a corporate event of some kind.”

“Then it looks like a girls night at the compound is what we’re going to do.” Natasha turns to leave the city and you feel your heart getting a little lighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter! I'm looking at maybe switching to posting three times a week instead of just two. What are your thoughts on that? Also let me know what you thought of the chapter:)


	17. Chapter 17

**B: You should have come to the party. It was fun. Although Spider-Man never came. So I don’t know if Peter was lying or what. Either way it would have been more fun if you were there.**

**Y:i had family stuff come up. next one.**

“Learning all about the party?” Natasha asks from the driver’s seat as you enter back into the city. You had spent the night at the compound, watching horror movies and catching your aunt up on the gossip from school. She had managed to find out that it wasn’t just the fact that you were upset that Peter got to meet Spider-Man first but that you had a somewhat major crush on Peter. A somewhat major crush that was being dampened by his weird behavior.

“Have to know what to tell Happy and Pepper about when I get home.”

“Did Spider-Man show up?”

“No.” You look at the only other notification on your phone. Your snapchat streaks that you need to answer. You snap a few pictures to answer Betty and Astrid. But you don’t know what to do about Peter. You guys have had a streak going since the day you became friends on snapchat and you’re not one to give up your streaks. But you’re also a Stark, which apparently means you don’t give up a fight that easily. You open the picture Peter sent you, it says S in the corner. But then it has a text banner across the bottom of the screen.

**y/n please don’t be mad at me because i told them about sm**

All you do is snap a photo of the passing buildings and draw an S on the screen. You click send before you can change your mind. The moment you hit send your phone goes off, with your dad’s face on your home screen.

“That Papa Stark?” Natasha asks without even looking.

“Yeah.”

“I wouldn’t send him to voicemail. He’ll track you.” You know she’s right. So you hit accept call and put him on speaker, not minding Natasha hearing the call.

“Hey kiddo, I’m about to board the plane home. But why is your phone pinging in the Bronx?” So he is tracking you.

“Went to a party in the suburbs last night. Heading home.”

“Went to a party? Did you see Spider-Man there?”

“He never showed up. However this really cool blonde chick did though.” Natasha shakes her head at you. She mouths NO at you.

“Really? New friend?”

“She reminds me of someone I already know. Besides the point. Why did you never text me back yesterday?”

“You realize I’m in a completely different time zone than you right?”

“That hasn’t stopped you before. You never sleep.”

“Y/N, I’ll explain what I can when I get home. Can you put Happy on? I need to let him know some stuff.”

“He’s not driving me. Betty’s mom is.”

“Why didn’t you have Happy drive you?”

“Because Betty’s mom is very capable.”

“But Happy is the forehead of security for a reason. I feel like I have dealt with nothing but irresponsible teenagers all weekend.”

“What do you mean all weekend? You’ve been gone and not around teenagers all weekend?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Dad.”

“Love you kiddo.” You don’t say anything in response. You know you should, but the teenager in you is feeling particularly stubborn today as you hung up the phone. 

“So this boy…” Natasha trails off as she starts to shift to the highway that will take you back towards Queens.

“Aunt Nat, there’s nothing I can do about him. He’s literally my dad’s intern. Plus I already told you- he’s been acting weird for weeks now. It’s like he’s hiding something. If I didn’t know him, I wouldn’t be shocked if something appeared in the press about our family from him.”

“But you know him. So there’s probably something else. Have you tried talking to him?”

“And say what? Hey Parker you’re acting like a weirdo? Talk to me in front of all our friends or in front of Happy when you miraculously happen to ride with me which is like never?”

“I thought his name was Peter.”

“It is, but long story short, I call him by his last name a lot too.”

“Want me to do some sneaky background searching?”

“You think Dad hasn’t made FRIDAY look already? I could search, but do I want to know?” You ask and know you probably don’t. “I have enough people in my life already keeping secrets from me. I just thought he would be my honest friend.”

“You thought he might be worthy of being a boyfriend?” Natasha raises an eyebrow as she asks.

“It doesn’t matter if I did.” You fiddle with the radio as you try to ignore her question. Had you pictured it, sure. But it was a thought of the past now. “All I want now is for him to go back to the friend that I could have jokes with and sneak off campus when I was having a shitty day because the Avengers decided to be shitty.”

“You seem to sneak out of school too much.”

“I swear I only started doing it since I joined this family. So that says something more about you guys then me.”

“Not helping your case.” But Natasha still smiles. She knows that if it were really a problem your dad would put an end to it. “You’re a smart kid and your dad wouldn’t have fought to keep you at that school if it wasn’t one of the best. Take advantage of it. Because I have to stay under the radar, so I can’t be taking you out of school every other day.”

“I know. I do really appreciate it.”

“It’s what family does.” Your aunt’s hand falls to your shoulder.

“Can you at least stay under the radar and stay in touch? Because this whole going months without seeing you makes me worry.”

“I’ll find a way to let you know I’m alright.” Natasha promises as she pulls up in front of the brownstone. 

“How…?” You hadn’t even told her your new address.

“I keep tabs on important people.” She smiles. “Now get inside before Pepper wonders why you stayed out all night.”

“Happy will have told her I went to a party. That’s the whole point of him being the forehead of security or whatever it is that Dad calls him day to day.”

“Your dad and his nicknames.” Natasha says with a roll of her eyes. “Will he have though? Your dad didn’t know?”

“Dad’s across the world right now. Pepper was at SI yesterday which is where Happy goes when I’m at school. The likelihood that he mentioned it is like 85% or higher I would say.”

“Only 85%? Hmm.” Your aunt teases you. You lean over the console to give your aunt a hug. 

“Don’t stay away for so long next time please.” You say softly. “I think out of everyone, you and Pepper are the most sane ones.”

“I won’t disagree with that.” Natasha smiles as she hugs you back. “Get inside.” Although you don’t seem to notice, Natasha sees the strawberry blonde at the window. As you climb out of the car, Natasha makes eye contact with Pepper. 

No matter how either of them feel about how the accords went down, there’s one thing they're in agreement about- keeping you safe and happy is important. So while she knows that Tony wouldn’t be happy to see you getting out of Natasha’s car, she won’t say anything yet. Because Pepper knows that Natasha would and will keep you safe. However, there is something that she will need to address with you, and that’s the fact that you lied about where you were for the last 24 hours.

As you stand outside the car, you wave at Natasha once more before making your way towards the front door of the brownstone. FRIDAY unclocks the door and lets you walk in. “Pepper, I’m home.” You call out. 

“Living room.” Pepper calls back, as if she hasn’t just walked in there a few moments earlier. You walk in to see her scrolling her datapad. “How was the party?” She asks, hoping you’ll just own up to where you actually were. 

“Eh, you know. Normal I guess.” So sticking with the lies it is?

“Certain masked vigilante show up?” Pepper asks, not looking up.

You shake your head. “Nah. Guess a high school party isn’t cool enough for Spider-Man.” Pepper wants to laugh knowing who Spider-Man actually is, but she doesn’t.

“How’s Betty?”

“Good. She had fun last night.” 

“And her mom?”

“Also good.”

“And Natasha?”

“Doing well.” You realize what you said. “Shit.”

“Wanna talk about what actually happened in the past twenty four hours?” 

“If I say no, do I still have to?” Pepper looks up from the datapad.

“You probably should.” So you sit down on the couch next to her and tell her everything, from the lunch conversation yesterday, to texting Aunt Nat, to staying at the compound, your mixed feelings about Peter, to coming home.

“Are you going to tell Dad?”

“That you spent the night at the compound with a Rogue instead of going to a high school party? No. Do I think you should probably tell him? I think that’s a decision you should make for yourself. However, excluding the Accords and all that happened with that, I trust Natasha and I know she would never do anything to hurt you, which is why she is still allowed to take you out of school. But I don’t want you thinking you can do this all the time.”

“I know. I just… Yesterday was a bad day. First Delmar’s, then the Spider-Man drama, and it just felt like everything was piling up on each other and I just couldn’t deal with school.”

“You know you could have called me right?”

“Really? But you wouldn’t let me skip the fitness test yesterday morning.”

“There’s a difference between wanting to skip school because you don’t want to do something I know you can do and needing to leave school because everything is overwhelming you. You need me and I’ll be there for you. That will never change. Hell if you had called your dad and told him that school was too much, he would have sent Happy in a heartbeat. That will always be how we handle school with you, as long as you’re honest with us.” She stresses the honesty part of it all. 

“To be fair, I did text Dad and he wasn’t much help.”

“Did you text him or did you accuse him?” Pepper asks, knowing the hotheadedness you and your dad both get. 

“Maybe more of the second.”

“And he stopped responding?”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he told me, with you, he never wants to get angry or irrational about things that he can preemptively avoid. So maybe he stepped away from the conversation but he’ll probably talk with you about it all once he’s home tomorrow. Because he loves you, a lot. And he doesn’t want you to feel like he’s going to be mad when you come to him with things that may or may not be his fault.”

“Aunt Nat said he probably was keeping Spider-Man from me because of the same reason all the Accords stuff happened.” You pause before adding, “to keep me safe.”

“If I had to guess, I would think so. He does a lot of things to keep you safe. You’re the center of his universe. And he’ll do anything in his power to make sure no harm comes to you.”

“Am I in trouble?” You ask.

“For?”

“Lying?”

“Not this time. Only because you did take responsible steps. You contacted a trusted adult. Now if you had lied and gone to a party instead. We’d be having a different discussion. But you did make fairly smart decisions.” Pepper pulls you in for a hug. “Your dad and I love you a lot. You know that right?” You nod into the hug.

“I love you too Pepper.” You lean into her hold onto you. You know that Pepper will probably be your step-mom one day, whenever your dad finally gets the courage up to ask her finally. But a small part of you wishes that Pepper could have been your mom.

You’re working on homework that’s due tomorrow, when there’s a knock on your door. Without looking up, you say, “come in,” expecting Pepper to walk in, since your dad’s flight isn’t supposed to land for another hour if you’re remembering correctly. 

“Hey kiddo.” Your head flies up at the sound of your dad’s voice.

“I thought you were getting back around dinner time?” 

“When it’s a private jet, you can leave whenever you want. Had them leave a bit earlier so I could get home earlier.” He explains, his hand still resting on your door knob. “What are you working on?” 

“Chemistry.” You grimace. “I don’t think I’m doing right though.” 

“Can I help?” 

“You really want to?”

“I happen to be pretty good at it.” Tony walks across the room to take a seat on your bed. “Before we work on this, can we talk really quick?”

“About?” You have a pretty good feeling you know what about, but the longer you can push it off the better.

“Those texts on Friday?” Wait, Pepper really didn’t tell him?

“Sure?”

“I wasn’t ignoring you kiddo. I promise you. But I needed to step back from the conversation before I said something that came across the wrong way. When I was reading your texts I was jet lagged and heading to a wedding I didn’t really want to be at. I was worried I was going to snap at you, come across as… someone I don’t want to be. I promised myself I would reply after I got some sleep, but next thing I knew I was on the phone with you and realized I never did. I’m sorry. I promise you, you were in the right to be upset with me, but it really was that I meant to reply back and it slipped my mind.”

“Ok.” You say after a moment.

“Ok?”

“Ok, I forgive you.”

“Really? No telling me I fucked up?”

“Pepper and I talked about it yesterday and she gave me some insight that really helped. So you’re forgiven and all that.”

“What did Pepper say?” Tony wants to know what Pepper said that changed you from when he talked to you.

“That you probably stepped away from the conversation so that we weren’t just two hotheads yelling at each other.” You shrug. “Also something about me being the center of your universe.” Tony smiles at that.

“Well neither of those are wrong. Just don’t get a big head about being the center of my universe.” He leans over to kiss your forehead.

“Wouldn’t think about it.” You smirk. But then you remember the conversation you had with your Aunt Nat about why your dad probably kept Spider-Man away from you. “Dad?”

“Yes?”

“Did you keep Spider-Man from me because you didn’t want more superheroes near me after all the Accords stuff happened?”

“Wow, Pepper coming up with so much insight.” Tony smiles and you don’t disagree, knowing that technically you’re lying by not telling him, but you want to hear what he has to say instead of talking about your Friday night. “Yes, partially. With superheroes comes villains and danger. Do I want to keep that as far as possible from you? Yes. If I can only protect two things, it’s you and Pep, hands down. It’s part of the reasons I don’t keep you around the remaining Avengers either. But there’s also another reason with the situation with the Rogues made me realize how dangerous putting my trust in a group of super humans is. They can turn around and shoot you in the back, leaving you crippled for life. I can’t have that happening to you. Not when you’re perfect just the way you are. Like Pep said, you’re the center of my universe, which means I will do anything to make sure that the center of my universe is safe.” 

You think over what your dad says for a moment.  _ Shoot you in the back? _ Clearly he’s talking about Uncle Rhodey’s injury. The Rogues did that to Uncle Rhodey? Aunt Nat hadn’t said anything about that. And Vision didn’t seem to think anything of seeing her at the Compound. So this is all more confusing. “So you introduced him to Peter instead? Dad that puts Peter in danger-”

“He met Peter because Peter is helping me make some of the Avengers’ tech. I needed Spider-Man to explain some of the specific things he’s looking for in his tech. That was it. I didn’t know they were good enough friends that Peter could invite him to parties, especially ones that you’re going to, and Spider-Man would show up. That’s on me for not paying closer attention. I’ll talk to Peter about that. And remind Spider-Man that he’s not a costume character to show up at parties for fun.” You feel slightly bad about getting Peter in trouble. “But let’s get on your homework.”

“And here I was hoping I could distract you long enough to ignore it.” You grimace throwing your head back.

“Come on kiddo. We’ve got this.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I'm going to try to update Monday, Wednesday, Fridays from now on, but we will see if I remember my new schedule lol! Let me know what you thought about the chapter! 11 left!


	18. Chapter 18

“Kid, we have to talk. What have you been thinking?” Tony is pacing around the lab as Peter sits on the stool. He should be working on his physics homework, but Tony needs to talk to him. He’s been fighting on and off with you, he had to rescue Peter from a lake and now the DC stuff. “You could have blown Spidey’s cover so many times in the past weeks plus the alien tech stuff on top of that? You’re supposed to be neighborhood Spider-Man, not running off to DC Spider-Man. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that people needed help and I was there.” Peter says, swinging his leg, not looking Tony in the eye.

“Not good enough.” That makes Peter’s head pop up. “I looked up your suit info. Don’t lie to me. Your suit doesn’t even show being in DC after say nine thirty six pm on Friday night which is weird seeing as you were videotaped at the Washington monument on Saturday. So either there’s something off with the suit, or you messed with it?”

“There was, um, some faulty wiring?” 

“Nice try. Plus Y/N got pissed at me that I introduced you to Spider-Man first since you were trying to use him as a party trick. And then I had to rescue you from a lake. So either you need to explain what’s going on, or Spider-Man goes back to being a kid in a onesie.”

“Wait you’d take the suit away?”

“I’m trying to figure out where you’re at. None of this seems like the kid that told me he wants to help the little guy.”

“I’m trying to help the little guy, but there is also more I could be doing and you’re not listening. You’re too focused on everything except what I’m telling you. I’m trying to keep the little guy safe from this guy with the wings and you won’t listen. You don’t even seem to care about what I’m actually doing unless it involves Y/N.”

“That’s because she’s my daughter.”

“Who I happen to like a lot and all you care about is keeping her to yourself. You want me to keep a million secrets from her and that’s fine. But you’re making me hurt her and I won’t do it anymore.” Peter snatches his homework off the table and shoves it into his backpack before walking out of the lab. Tony can only watch as the kid walks out of the lab. This conversation went nowhere near where he thought it would go.

And the next few days don’t go any better for Tony. He tries to do what he thinks will help the situation so that Peter doesn’t have to worry about it, but when he has to rescue the entire Staten Island Ferry from being split down the middle, he’s pissed off. So yeah, he takes the kid’s suit. Because he’s worried. And nothing seems to be going through that kid’s thick skull.

Your dad was in a mood when you got home from Betty’s house that afternoon. “Let me guess you weren’t even at Betty’s house studying?”’

“I’ve been at Betty’s since school let out. Happy literally picked me up from there. What’s your problem?” You drop your backpack on the floor.

“My problem is you kids running around like you can do anything in the world and that us adults won’t help you if you just reach out. Instead you have to skirt the rules and make up things. Then we have to come in to save the day all the time.”

“Clearly I have no idea what you’re talking about. But if you’re in a shit mood, quit taking it out on me. Because I was having a relatively good day until now.”

“I was having a relatively good day until your boyfriend messed it up.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend so I have less than zero idea what you’re talking about.”

“Well Parker made his intentions about having feelings for you clear when he stormed out of the lab the other day clear so I thought he would have made a move by now. Then he goes and makes a huge mess that I have to take care of.”

“What are you talking about? There is nothing going on between Peter and I. Honestly if he was having a relationship with any Stark, I would guess it would be you since he spends way more time with you than he does me. But if he did something that you had to fix, that’s on him, not me. So quit taking it out on me.” You grab your backpack and storm up the stairs to your room. Twitter is full of stories about Spider-Man and Iron Man saving the Staten Island Ferry. _ He goes and makes a huge mess that I have to take care of.  _ Holy Shit. Peter doesn’t know Spider-Man; Peter _ is _ Spider-Man. 

Grabbing a pair of sunglasses, your wallet, your phone, and your purse, you make your way downstairs. Your dad is still pacing around the living room, mumbling to himself. He doesn’t even look up as the front door beeps, which says something about how far in his head he is. The brownstone is better than the tower at one thing- the paparazzi haven’t swarmed it yet. So you’re actually able to get out of the building without being swarmed like when you leave school. You should call Happy. He at least knows how to get you where you want to go. But you don’t want him to say no or worse tell your dad. So you’ll figure this out. 

“FRIDAY, can you pull up directions to Peter Parker’s apartment?” 

“Certainly Y/N.”

“FRI, can you not tell my dad where I’m going?”

“He has the ability to override your settings, but unless he does, I will keep your trip a secret.”

“Thanks FRIDAY.” You look at the map on your screen and start walking towards the subway station. It’s been months since you rode the train, but it feels like coming home. You used to ride the E train all the time to go to Betty’s house and school, so this feels like going home. According to the map, Peter lives only four blocks from Nana and Pops’ anyway. It’s going to take some time to get there from where you live now, so right now you plug your headphones in and let your I Hate My Life playlist start playing. Song to Sing When I’m Lonely by John Frusciante plays and you let your head bob back and forth as the train clicks and clacks over the tracks. 

You look at the number on your screen one last time before knocking on the door in front of you. “I’m coming.” A voice from the other side calls. A female voice. Not Peter’s voice. “Hi?”

“Hi, is Peter here?”

“Uh, he is. I think he’s in the shower. Who are you?”

“I’m a friend of his. I’m Y/N Stark.” You realize it might be safer to use your old last name, but you’ve gotten so used to saying Stark now, that it’s too late.

“Oh. Peter told me.”

“Told you…?”

“About how he lost the internship. He never mentioned that his friend Y/N was related to your dad though.” Peter lost his internship? That’s news to you.

“My dad is trying to keep it kind of low key.” Not that he did a good job at that.

“Come on in.” The woman motions for you to follow her into the apartment. “I’m May, Peter’s aunt.” You follow her through the kitchen into the living room. “I’d offer you a snack, but I’m not much of a cook.”

“I’m good. My dad is kind of strict about what I’m allowed to eat anyway. No GMOs, all organic, no high fructose corn syrup, all those crazy rules. It’s kind of annoying to be honest.” May looks at the teenager sitting in front of her in a printed graphic tee that reads ‘I like coffee and maybe three people’, a pair of denim shorts and a pair of galaxy high tops. Much more summery than the fall weather that was starting to roll in but a cute outfit nonetheless. Before May can say anything in response, the bathroom door opens and Peter walks out in nothing but a towel. 

“I might have used all the hot water, May. Sorry.”

“That’s ok. Your friend stopped by.” Peter looks up to see you, but you can’t help but look at the abs he has somehow managed to hide the entire time you both have been friends. 

“Y/N? What-what-what are you doing here?” His hand falls to grasp the towel that's wrapped around his waist.

“Maybe you should put some clothes on before you try to have a full on conversation?” May suggests.

“Clothes. Right.”

“Boys.” May rolls her eyes. “So you go to MSST?” You nod. “Are you as into all the sciences as Peter is?” You shake your head.

“It’s probably the biggest disappointment about being Tony Stark’s kid is that I hate science.” You can’t help but scrunch your nose as you say this.

“Well thank god, because I can’t follow half of what Peter talks about.” May says with a smile. 

“That’s how I feel when him and my dad come up from the lab. I never have a clue what they’re talking about. But books, most movies, pop culture, I’m good with that.” 

“Well I’m pretty good at following those as well.” May smiles as she talks with you about some of your favorite books, movies you’ve seen recently, and even some news until Peter comes out and steals you. You follow him into a room that has a bunk bed and a ton of tech. It all screams Peter. You don’t know what to say to him, but luckily, Peter starts the conversation.

“I thought your dad would have told you we can’t be friends anymore.” Peter says crossing his arms and kicking some of the Legos that Ned had left here across his floor.

“Why ‘cause you lost your internship? When did that happen by the way?”

“Today.” Peter looks at the floor.

“Right when you and him had to save the Staten Ferry right?” Peter’s eyes jump up to look at you.

“What?”

“I feel like an idiot for it taking so long to connect, but you’re Spider-Man. Which makes total sense. I never should have sent the video to my dad in the first place.”

“Wait, your dad found the video because of you?”

“You think my dad knows how to find Youtube videos?” You can’t help but laugh. “He’s good at science and stuff, but Youtube is not his forte. So why didn’t you just tell me? I know like half a dozen if not more other superheroes. Knowing one more, wouldn’t have been that big of a deal.”

“Your dad made me promise not to tell you.”

“Well he seems to have no problem telling me that you have feelings for me, so why is telling me about your alter ego a big deal?” Peter’s face falls, turning red at the same time.

“He what?” You step across the room, reaching out for Peter, but dropping your hand at the last second.

“It’s not a bad thing. It honestly makes me feel so much better about the fact that I may or may not have been feeling quite similarly about you. But I didn’t want to be that girl that had feelings for the guy a year older than her.” You shrug and your hand tugging your hair forward, trying to find something to fidget with. But Peter’s hand comes up to push your hair away from your face.

“So you’re saying that if I told you I like you…” His hand rests on your cheek.

“Then I would say I like you too.”

“God, Y/N, you’re making this awful day a million times better.” And before you know it, Peter’s leaning in to place his lips on yours. Peter’s kissing you- you should be kissing him back. He takes your lack of movement as resistance and starts to lean away from you, but you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him back. You could keep kissing him until you needed air, if your phone wasn’t going off in your back pocket.

“Hold that thought.” You whisper into his lips as you pull out your phone, seeing your dad’s picture. You take a deep breath before picking up the phone. “Yes.”

“Y/N Y/M/N Stark, where the hell are you?” Tony’s voice is harsher than you’ve ever heard it.

“I didn’t even know you knew my middle name.”

“Y/N I’m in no mood for games. Where the hell are you? You didn’t ask me to go anywhere and you didn’t ask Happy to drive you. FRIDAY says you requested I don’t ask where you went so I’m giving you a chance to tell me before I just override the system. Where are you?”

“I had to run an errand.”

“And that is at what location?”

“I had to run to Peter’s.”

“Why?”

“Does it really matter? You apparently fired him, so he’s no longer your intern. He’s just my friend.”

“It matters because you are fourteen and you left the house without telling anyone which you promised you wouldn’t do. Security risk remember? I’m sending Happy to pick you up. So finish your conversation by the time he gets there.”

“Fine.”

“And know you’re grounded.”

“How is that any different than how you already make me live? I’m literally allowed to go to school and come straight home?”

“You went to a party did you not?” And you have to bite your tongue to not spoil where you actually went.

“Ugh whatever.” And you hang up the phone.

“You snuck out to come see me?” Peter asks and you look up at him in confusion. Was your phone that loud? “Spidey Senses. I can hear way more than I’m supposed to.”

“Ah. Yeah, kind of snuck out. It’s not like it was really a secret. My dad could have easily hacked my phone if he wanted to.” You run a hand through your hair before looking up at Peter. “I don’t really want to talk about my dad.”

“Ok.”

“There’s a better way we can waste the ten minutes until Happy gets here.” You smile at him, and Peter’s hands wrap around your waist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooooo! New Chapter and I really hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y/M/I is your middle initial

Walking back through the front door, you’re hoping you can get back up the stairs without your dad spying you, but apparently your luck has run out. “Y/N Y/M/I Stark, living room now.” Your dad’s voice is stern, but not as harsh as you expect it to be. You take a breath before walking into the living room. Both Tony and Pepper are waiting for you, which shouldn’t really surprise you since it’s almost six on a Wednesday night, but still, a disappointed or angry talk from both of them is going to be worse than if only from one of them. Your dad is pacing the living room, while Pepper is just sitting on the couch. “Sit.” He points towards the couch. Pepper rolls her eyes at your dad’s mood, but pats the seat next to her. 

“Hello to you too.” You tease only slightly as you sit down next to her. 

“Hi sweetheart.” She says having not seen you since this morning.

“We can do niceties later. Right now we’re dealing with the bullshit that is her running off and telling FRIDAY not to tell me where she went, not telling Happy where she went, and oh right not telling her parents where she went.” 

“But we aren’t going to talk about how you were in a shit mood and decided to take it out on me? I’m the only one in the wrong here? That’s some real bullshit Tony.” You call him by his real name, not feeling like he’s acting much like a father right now. “You keep acting like it’s a huge threat being your kid, but honestly, I think you just like being controlling more than anything else. You lock me up in a tower like a Disney Princess, choose what I’m allowed to eat, where I’m allowed to go, and who I’m allowed to be friends with. I don’t think you ever wanted a kid. You wanted a robot you could control. Well guess what? I’m not a fucking robot. I’m a human being, with feelings and emotions. And what I’m feeling right now is that I’m done with your bullshit.” You scream at him before storming out of the room.

“Couldn’t have kept your cool for two minutes Tony?” Pepper asks, looking off in the direction you ran away.

“Me? Did you not hear her monologue attacking my entire personality? Apparently I’m no better than Howard so…” Tony shouts before storming off towards the garage. Pepper knows that there are two hotheads in her life, but seeing as Tony is most likely going for a drive, she’ll tackle you first. 

Pepper knocks on your door, waiting to hear the reply that never comes. So she opens the door to see you curled up under your blankets, headphones plugged in, staring at the ceiling. Pepper sees the same stubbornness she’s seen from Tony time and time again. Making her way across the room, she sits on the edge of your bed. You try to not make eye contact with her for a few moments, but eventually pull your headphones out and look her in the eyes.

“I’m not coming down to apologize.”

“He’s not even down there right now.” Your eyebrows pull together as you take in what she said. “Like father, like daughter. He stormed out of the room a few moments after you did.”

“Was that when he was yelling? Something about Howard?” You ask. Pepper doesn’t know how much you know about your grandparents, but it’s clear you heard at least some of what your dad yelled, so she nods her head. “When he’s talking about Howard, he means my grandfather, right? His father?” Pepper nods slowly. It’s not really her story to tell you. “Was my grandfather a bad person? No one will tell me about him?”

“Your dad and him didn’t see eye to eye. It really should be your dad to tell you the story.”

“That’s what Aunt Nat told me too.”

“But, what I can tell you, is your dad loves you very much. Is he overprotective at times? Very. But does he love you? Very much. However the two of you are more similar than you are different. And that comes out in your tempers more than anything.” Pepper runs a hand over your leg. 

After cooling off, you decide to get your homework over with. You don’t have that much for a Wednesday anyway. It takes you barely an hour and you end up on your bed, scrolling through social media and texting Peter and friends, when a noise interrupts your music. 

Tony knocks on the door, opening it slightly. “Can I come in kiddo?”

“Are you coming in to yell at me again?” You ask, not looking up from your phone, not wanting to look at your dad yet.

“No.” He opens the door more, walking towards you. He notes the sweatshirt you’ve put on- a black shirt with white writing that reads ‘I Suck At Apologies So Unfuck You Or Whatever’. “Pepper was right that I should have kept my cool earlier instead of yelling at you when you got home.” Tony wants to sit on your bed, like he’s done a thousand times, but decides to sit on your desk chair instead, so that he doesn’t invade your space entirely. 

“Yeah, well according to Pepper, we’re both hotheads.” You say, not disagreeing with him, but not agreeing either.

“Sounds like something we both got from our pops.” He says, not letting anything else out. You want to ask more about the grandfather you don’t know, but you know it’s not the time for it. “Can we try having a civil conversation about everything now? Or we can have Pep come be a mediator if we need it?”

“I think we can be calm if we try?” You suggest.

“I’m not trying to make your life a living hell.” Tony says after a moment of thinking. You set your phone down and turn to look at him, sitting cross legged. “I promise you that. And I’m sorry. I know it feels like I have a bunch of rules but I’m trying to do the best for you and by you. Part of it is about your safety. That’s the parts that may not seem like a ton of fun and we had a conversation about it when you first moved in. If I could change it to be less strict and more fun I would. But I’m literally being the least strict I can be while still ensuring your safety.”

“Really?”

“Really. The food stuff, maybe,” he grimaces, “we can try and be a little more lenient. But I’m also trying to ensure that you have stuff that’s going to make your blood sugar good. So can we try to come up with a compromise on everything?” You nod. “And on the friends, the only people I keep away are the ones who could be safety issues. Normal humans, that’s on you to decide who you want to be friends with. And I shouldn’t have taken my frustrations about Peter out on you. But, the biggest thing, I one hundred percent want you, just the way you are. I don’t want a robot. If I did, I’d make another one. I have plenty as is. But you? I love having you. And I wouldn’t change who you are.” You stare at him for a moment, not sure what to say. “Did I miss any part of what you were mad about?” 

You try and think back to what all you yelled at him, and what he yelled at Pepper before leaving. “You didn’t miss anything, but I’m sorry too.” Tony looks at you in confusion. “I wasn’t trying to attack who you are-”

“Ah, you heard me yelling at Pep.”

“Maybe I did, but I did honestly attack who you were which wasn’t fair to you either.”

“Maybe not. But also I was still pissed off when I was yelling at her. Which gives me another person I need to apologize to, because let’s be honest, I don’t deserve her.”

“She’s the best you’ll ever get.” You say honestly.

“Very true.” Tony agrees. “But, I should have just removed myself from the situation instead of saying anything.”

“We both should have.” You can’t help but admit.

“True.” Tony walks over to you to give you a hug. “Even though we’re apologizing, I do have to tell you, you are grounded. One month.”

“Yeah, you told me on the phone.” You lean into his hug, but bite the bullet and ask the question that no one is willing to answer. “Dad?”

“Yeah kiddo?”

“Why will no one talk about your dad?” You feel your dad stiffen, but then he takes a deep breath as he pulls away from the hug. 

“Well I should have expected this to come up eventually. Who all mentioned him?”

“Well you mentioned him earlier, but Pepper did because I asked and Aunt Natasha did a while ago.”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story. You sure you want it?” You nod. “Ok, then scootch over.” You slide to the left of your bed and your dad sits down, wrapping an arm around you. “My dad was older when he had me. He was uh... fifty two when I was born. And he was of an older generation. So when I was growing up, he tended to be somewhat harsher. He didn’t believe in praise and tended to live by the motto that ‘Stark men have iron in their veins’. Made for harder times trying to impress him or just having him show affection. Growing up it was easy to feel like my father never wanted me, or that I was nothing more than a name to carry on the Stark legacy. As time went on, nothing I did was ever good enough. How could it be, when he helped create Captain America? All I heard growing up was Captain America this and Captain America that and it was easy to believe that Captain America was the one that could have been a better son for my dad, even though they were only a year apart.”

“So did your mom not step in?”

“Mom believed that Dad was showing his love in the ways that he knew how to. She showed her love in the ways she could. Which was better than Dad. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have her faults either.”

“So did you just disown him as a father or something? Is that why I haven’t met them?”

“They’re, uh, dead. They were killed when I was seventeen.” You look up at your dad’s face, looking for hurt or something but seeing not much of anything. “Mom would have loved you. Would have told me I was getting all the karma for all the years of partying by having a daughter that I now need to protect from all the boys and girls out there.”

“And your dad?”

“I can’t say. I’d want to say he’d see you and hopefully see past his past mistakes, but I can’t promise you that. But I know your grandmother would have loved you- just the way you are.”

“Can I ask you something else?”

“You can ask me anything, always.”

“When Aunt Nat was telling me about him, it was because she was telling me about your reaction about finding out about me. I wanted to know back when I first moved in. And she said you didn’t want to be like Howard.”

“I’m waiting for the question kiddo.”

“Well and then earlier you yelled at Pepper that you were no better than Howard.”

“Again, still no question.”

“What did I say that made you feel like you were no better than him?”

“Kiddo, we both already said that we said things we probably shouldn’t have-”

“You said you’d answer anything-”

“I said you could ask anything. Never said I’d answer it.” Tony says jokingly, trying to let humor cover the stuff he doesn’t usually talk about.

“Dad, please?”

“Fine. Um, Howard was always really controlling growing up. He made decisions about whether I was allowed to go places, who were the right kind of friends, and other things along the same lines. Honestly if I hadn’t gone off to college at 15, I don’t know if I would have gotten out from being under his thumb so early. That’s not to say that others didn’t try to take his place after his death but still. When you said I was treating you like you were supposed to be a robot I could control instead of a human, it reminded me of too many fights I had with him and Mom.” You can’t help but wrap your arms around him and hug your dad tightly. 

“I really didn’t mean those ones. You’re honestly a really good dad. And you and Pepper show me all the time that I’m loved. Far from a robotic situation.” You try to eat the words you spat out earlier, knowing you can’t take back words once they’re said. 

“You might not say that once I take Homecoming away.”

“I honestly wasn’t even sure if I was going to go. I haven’t been asked to go. Plus it’s the same weekend of all the moving stuff so Happy will probably be dealing with all of that so,” you shrug, “just seems like a busy enough weekend already.”

“Then I guess taking it away is pointless. However, if you go anywhere without Happy again, the forehead of security will be a 24/7 thing, not just a to and from school thing, got it?”

“Ok, ok. I get it.” He pulls you in close for another hug.

“Did you two kiss and make up?” Pepper asks from the doorway.

“We’re all better.” You say, still leaning into your dad’s arms.

“Good, because dinner is ready, and I wasn’t going to let the two of you continue your fight at the table.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I forget I was supposed to post on Friday? Yes. Did I also have a covid situation to deal with which is why I forgot? Also yes. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you thought of it.


	20. Chapter 20

“If you think you’re leaving the house looking like that, you are mistaken.” You look down at your outfit and are confused. Grey t-shirt, denim jacket, black ripped jeans, and hot pink converse. Your backpack is slung over your shoulder as you were about to walk out the door for Happy to take you across Queens to MSST. There’s nothing you can think of that your dad would be mad at your outfit about.

“What’s wrong with it?” You ask.

“Screw Your Lab Safety, I Want Superpowers?” You glance down at the shirt you’re wearing and know that you and Pepper had made the right choice with it. But you force a look of confusion to appear on your face as you reply.

“Doesn’t everyone want to be a superhero?”

“You’re going to be the death of me.” Tony mutters as you walk out the door.

“Bye Dad. Love you.”

You shouldn’t be surprised that Peter was waiting for you when Happy dropped you off, but it makes you smile. You want to kiss him when you see him, but with Happy and the paps both within a distance that it could be big news, both in the gossip pages and to a point where your dad would know about it before you even get to first period, you decide to wait until you’re inside the school building. “Hey Parker.”

“Hey there.” Peter looks out and sees all the cameras screaming your name and just walks next to you until you’re inside the school, but once inside he pulls your hand into his. Once you’re farther down the hallway, he pulls you close and his lips are on yours. “Wow.” He breathes the word into your lips when you both pull away from each other. “Guess I should say good morning?”

“If that’s how you plan on saying good morning, a girl could get used to that.”

“There’s only one girl I want getting used to that good morning.” Peter teases you as he leads you towards your locker.

“Well this girl could get used to that.” You say, bumping his shoulder with yours. “So how much trouble are you in for yesterday?”

“I haven’t found out yet, but I skipped detention before I even dealt with the whole  _ other  _ situation. So I’m probably in more trouble for skipping detention. How much trouble are you in for yesterday?” 

“Well I’m grounded for leaving the house, which doesn’t really do too much apart from I’m on like basically lockdown.”

“Which you feel like you were already on?” You nod.

“He threatened to take away homecoming, but I told him I wasn’t even sure I was going, so that took the power out of the punch so he backed away from taking that away. But he basically told me that if I go anywhere without Happy, he’ll make me have the “forehead of security” with me 24/7, which is a fate worse than death even though I don’t mind Happy that much.” Peter doesn’t comment on the homecoming thing. He wants to figure out the right way to ask you. It’s in a couple of weeks and he wants you to have enough time to find a dress. But if Happy was with you 24/7, Tony would surely come in his Iron Man suit and fight him for even just holding hands with Y/N. 

“Did you tell your dad about…” Peter trails off and motions between you both.

“And have him lock me up in the house and never let me out? No. The last time I brought up dating, he threatened to lock me up until I was 25. I mean, I’ll probably have to tell him if we plan on doing anything outside of school…” You trail off, not wanting to overstep.

“So if I were to say ask you out on a real date?” Peter says.

“That would be something I would have to tell him.”

“Or say if I wanted to take you to the homecoming dance as my date?”

“Another one I would have to tell him.” You nod in agreement.

“Well I guess you’re going to have to tell him, because I plan on doing both.” Peter says with a cheeky smile.

“Did you just…?” Peter kisses your cheek as you both walk up to your locker.

“Get a pretty dress. I’ll get you the fancy flower thing. And I’ll assume Happy is going to drive us since Tony won’t have it any other way.” You roll your eyes.

“Less than 24 hours Parker.”

“I’m not going to waste any time while I date you Y/N.” He says before walking off towards his own locker. Betty and Astrid wait until he turns the corner before dropping their own stuff.

“Tell us everything!” Betty demands.

“So I have a date to homecoming?” You say not sure where to start and are suddenly surrounded in a hug by your two best friends.

“And a boyfriend from the sounds of it.” Astrid adds. 

“I don’t know what to call it.”

“You walk around holding hands, he kisses you, and he’s taking you to a school dance.”

“Well and he wants to take me on dates. Plus I’m pretty sure my dad’s going to hate it.”

“Sounds like a boyfriend to me.” Betty says.

“So are you expelled?” You ask Peter as he sits down next to you at lunch.

“No but I’m in detention for, well, ever basically. Ned thought I was going to have to go to school where the principle has a crossbow.”

“Sounds legit to me babe.” You tease him.

“Babe?” He asks with a smile.

“Shut up.” You kiss his cheek.

“Look who finally got together.” Ned says loudly. 

“Shut up.” Peter says, but wraps an arm around you. You smile and lift an apple chunk to your lips as a voice calls out from behind you.

“Penis Parker has a girlfriend? Next you’re going to tell me that he actually knows Spider-Man.” Flash’s voice reverberates around the cafeteria.

“Eugine, you can very kindly fuck off, unless you really want my dad to come and tell you to fuck off again like he did when you visited Stark Industries.”

“He’s not worth it.” Peter says from next to you softly, knowing that your temper matches Tony’s when you want it to.

“You were like having an episode. That’s the only reason he wasn’t interested when I tried to talk to him.”

“My body was trying to kill me. And my father was worried. Kind of the wrong time to introduce yourself to someone’s dad don’t you think? So back off. And just so you know, last night Spider-Man came over while Peter was over helping my dad on a project. So maybe you should just keep your goddamn mouth shut. Because it sounds like out of the two of you, you’re the one that has no idea what you’re talking about.” Flash turns around to his own table, not having anything in response, so you turn back to your own friends.

“You met Spider-Man last night?” Betty asks.

“He was just dealing with some superhero stuff. He was pretty chill if you ask me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you got back to back updates since I forgot to post until yesterday so woooo another chapter! Hopefully this week I'll remember to post on wednesday and friday too! Eight more chapters left! Let me know what you thought of this!


	21. Chapter 21

“So what kind of shopping are we doing?” Pepper has a feeling that this is something more specific than just you wanting to go shopping, but she’s trying to let you broach the topic. She’s hoping that Peter finally got the nerve up to ask you to the dance.

“Um I need a dress.”

“Like go to Buffalo Exchange dress?”

“Something a little nicer than that.” You avoid her gaze as you mutter the next sentence. “I got asked to Homecoming.”

“Ah.” Pepper smiles to herself. “Who’s the lucky person who gets to be your date?”

“Peter.” 

“And have you told your dad yet.” You shake your head. “You worried about his reaction.” 

“That and I’m technically grounded.”

“Well, I give you the official pardon to go to the dance. But you do need to tell him you’re going.”

“Really?” Your eyes pop up to meet hers.

“Really. So what kind of dress are you wanting? Cocktail length? Floor length? Any particular color?”

“I think cocktail length and something with pockets so I don’t have to worry about Queenie.” Pepper turns to Happy and tells him to take her to her normal dress store. 

“We’ll find you a couple nice dresses.”

“I only need one.”

“But there’s a couple SI events coming up in the next six months or so that I think Tony would like you to be at so having a few nice dresses would be a good thing.”

“Ok.” You’ve grown more open to spending money in the past few months of living with Tony, but you don’t love doing it. “How many events are coming up that I have to go to?”

“There’s three that I can think of that your dad will probably want you to be at attendance at.”

“So can we set the bar at three dresses?” Pepper looks at you in confusion. “I can wear the same dress for Homecoming and one of the events so then I just need two more.”

“Always more practical. If your dad was here, you’d walk out with half a dozen.”

“And that’s why we didn’t invite him.” You shake your head imagining buying six dresses at once. Happy pulls into a parking spot outside of the fanciest dress shop you’ve ever seen. Pepper sees the hesitation marking your face. She takes one of your hands in hers.

“It’s ok. This place is great at doing alterations which is one of the reasons I love them. Which means we can make sure that if your dress doesn’t have pockets we can add it.” You nod as you try to swallow the lump in your throat. “Now let’s have some fun.” You follow Pepper towards the front door, feeling too shabby in your jeans and Pink Floyd Carnegie Hall T-shirt. Part of you also wishes you had chosen shoes other than your red high tops, but at least your feet will be comfortable. 

“Pepper Potts! We’ve missed seeing you here.”

“Hello Jeffrey.” Pepper is enveloped in a hug by a tall, dark skinned man. “I’d like you to meet Tony’s daughter Y/N. She needs some dresses for some events coming up.”

“Aren’t you a stunner? I see Tony in your eyes and your smile. And I definitely can think of some wonderful pieces we could put you in.” He ushers the two of you towards a couple racks of dresses. “But I would love to see what you’re drawn towards before I just pick up anything that I think you would look killer in.” Pepper smiles at you. You look towards the racks of dresses in front of you to see what you can find. This is a different experience than any other time you’ve been shopping for dresses. Usually it’s whatever you can find that you like in your size at a thrift store. But this time, there’s so many different sizes of the same dress and signs saying if they don’t have your size they can order one for you. You let your hands run along the fabric in front of you, feeling the different dresses. The first one your hand falls on that you can’t take your eyes off of is a navy blue dress that is cocktail length, with a v-neck and spaghetti straps.

“That one is beautiful.”

“We also have that one in red on that rack over there.” Jeffrey points to the other rack. You’re pulled towards the blue color, but red could be a good option. 

“Can I try them both on?”

“Of course.” Jeffrey glances at the tag for the size and pulls a matching red dress off the rack a moment later. He offers to take the blue one from your hand. “Keep looking. I’ll hold on to these.” You push through some of the dresses until your hand falls upon another navy dress. This one is a high/low dress, at least in terms of the over layer which is a gauzy material. It also has spaghetti straps, but this time it has a sweetheart neckline and is accented with sequins.

“That one would be a great one for homecoming.” Pepper comments.

“One more.” You say thinking back to the comment about three dresses.

“You can try more than three styles, honey.” Pepper replies with a smile. “Even if you say we’re only buying three.”

“I don’t want to be greedy.” You say as you look through the dresses in front of you. There are two that are calling to you. The first is a lilac one. It has cap sleeves, a higher neckline that the other two you’ve pulled already, and will probably hit at about knee length with it’s lacey overlay. Plus it has a sash to it that you like the look of. The other is white, which you normally wouldn’t be drawn towards but you are. It’s fairly simple, mostly tule with some blue flower accents sewn into the overlay. You pull both off the rack.

“That one is stunning.” Pepper says looking at the white one. It doesn’t have sleeves, but you kind of like that it doesn’t. “And lavender would be a great color on you.” Jeffrey takes both from you. “Do you want to try on some longer dresses as well?” Pepper asks.

“Do I need longer ones?”

“Not necessarily, but you could have a long dress for some of the events your dad may suggest going to as a backup.”

“Uh, ok then.”

“How about you try on the ones you pulled and I’ll pull some longer ones based on what it seems like you like?” Jeffrey suggests, noticing you seem a little overwhelmed.

“That sounds like a plan.” Jeffrey leads you to a dressing room where you strip out of your clothing and put on the first of the dresses, the navy dress. It’s fairly low cut, but you don’t hate it. Plus it already has pockets so that’s an added bonus. You step out of the dressing room to show Pepper.

“How do you feel about it?” She asks.

“Well it has pockets which I like. But I feel like with how low cut it is Dad will never let me out of the house.”

“It’s not that low cut. Plus it comes up higher here to make it classy still.” Pepper points out. “Can I take a picture of it?”

“Sure. I should probably send it to Astrid and Betty since I told them I was going to go dress shopping with you instead.”

“You should have invited them to come along.”

“I don’t think they could have afforded this place.” You say honestly. You had already seen the triple digits on the price tag on this dress and now feel guilty about agreeing to even three dresses.

“Your dad-”

“Don’t say Dad could have bought them dresses too. That’s too much. Even buying one of these dresses seems like too much. I could have gotten a dress at Macy’s for like sixty bucks.”

“Your dad doesn’t mind.”

“I know he doesn’t but I do.” The words burst out of you before you can stop them. “I’m sorry Pepper.”

“It’s still new, I get it.” Pepper reaches her arms out to you and pulls you in for a hug. “It’s overwhelming isn’t it.”

“Yeah.” You mumble into her shirt. “It just doesn’t feel like I should be the one to receive all of this.”

“Well you deserve this. Your dad wants you to have anything and everything you want. But more importantly, he wants you to know you’re loved.” 

“I know I am. You two tell me a lot.”

“Well you are.”

“I shouldn’t be freaking out over a dress. It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.”

“You don’t freak out over him buying you clothing.”

“That’s because I worked for him before I dated him. Him buying stuff for me wasn’t unusual. You got thrown into having him be your dad out of the blue. It’s a different situation. And if it takes more time to handle it then that’s what we do. If we just walk out of here with one dress, or no dresses, then that’s what we do.”

“That would be a waste of today though.”

“Not if it makes you more comfortable.” Pepper’s hand runs through your hair. “We’re doing what makes you comfortable.”

“I think…. we should keep on trying on the dresses and then make decisions.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” She looks at the dress you’re wearing. “So a picture of it to send to friends and then which one next?” 

“I think maybe the red one. I know I like the dress so see what it looks like in another color.” You make your way through the dresses, cutting the sequin dress, the red one since you like the navy version better, and the lilac one since there was just something about how it sat that both you and Pepper didn’t like. The white one might be the winner so far, but there was something about the blue one that you still loved. Pepper took pictures of both so you could send them to Astrid and Betty. 

“I have a few long dresses that I think would look good on you Y/N.” Jeffrey says. “What did we think about the short ones?”

“I think right now only these two are still in the running.” You say pointing at the two that you’re waiting to hear from Betty and Astrid about.

“Perfect. I’ll take the others off your hands. So I have three dresses for you to try. There are probably a million more I could find that would look amazing on you. But I thought I’d limit it for right now.” He hangs three more dresses in your dressing room before taking the dresses you decided against.

You take the first one off the hanger. It’s a pale baby blue color with a neckline that matches the navy dress you like. However all over the tulle skirt and body, it’s covered with little flower details. You slip into it and look at yourself in the mirror. It’s a little long, seeing how you’re not that tall, but you like it. As you walk outside, Pepper smiles at you. “That’s a gorgeous dress.”

“It’s too long though. I’d spend all night tripping over it.”

“That’s an easy alteration.” Jeffrey points out. “And Pepper was saying about how you want your dresses to have pockets. I know the other two for sure adding pockets would be easy and I don’t think it would be that hard to add it on this one either.”

“But more importantly what do you think about it?” Pepper asks.

“I like the dress, but I’m not sure if I like it on me?” Your answer comes out like a question since you’re not sure if that even makes sense. “I think it’s the color. I think it’s too pale for me right now.”

“Ok, well how about you try on one of the other ones?” Pepper suggests, not trying to change your mind. You make your way back into the dressing room, lifting the skirt so you don’t fall and unzip the dress. You slide it off, making sure to not let it catch on Queenie. The next dress is a dark emerald green color and you kind of already love the color. It rests off your shoulder and it has pockets already so no alteration is needed there, you think to yourself as you clip Queenie on. The only thing you’re hesitant about is the huge slit up the left side of the dress. Is it too mature in your dad’s mind? 

“You look stunning.” Pepper says as you walk out of the dressing room. “What do you think?”

“I think Dad might have a heart attack over this.” You point to the slit. 

“He let you waltz in and out of the house in shorts. I don’t think the slit is going to be that big of a deal. Can I take a picture of it?”

“The slit?”

“The dress, honey. You look so pretty in it.”

“Oh sure.” You smile as Pepper snaps the photo on her phone. She sends it to you, thinking you’ll probably want to send it to your best friends. “I’m going to try on the last dress.”

The last dress is gorgeous too. Even just on the hanger you can tell that. But as you slip it on you think you might be torn between this one and the green one. This one also rests off your shoulders, but unlike the last one that went straight across, this one dips into a little bit of a sweetheart neckline. The bottom of the dress is entirely tulle. You clip Queenie to the back of the dress for now. That’s the only thing this dress needs- pockets. You walk out of the dressing room and can tell just from her face that Pepper likes it too.

“That one would be perfect for the SI Christmas Gala if you like it.”

“It’s really pretty, but I also really like the green one.”

“There’s nothing saying you can’t get both.” Pepper says.

“But then I need to choose between the other dresses.” You bite the inside of your lip. “Can you take a picture of this one so I can send it to Astrid and Betty? If I don’t send them all the options, I might get murdered.” Pepper takes the picture for you and after you send it, you start to turn around to go get changed. 

“If you’re torn between the other two but you’re going to get this one, we can get the alterations done while we wait for your friends to reply. We can put the other three behind the counter while you make up your mind.” Jeffrey suggests. 

“Sure.” Pepper is glad to hear that you’ve at least made up your mind on at least two of the dresses. If it is up to Pepper, she would buy you all the dresses. But she doesn’t want to overwhelm you so she’ll let you make a decision. As the alterations go on with the red dress, your phone blows up with Astrid and Betty making comments about your dresses. You glance at the screen and read over their messages. “Pepper we have a problem.”

“What’s the problem? I’m a pretty good problem solver.”

“Astrid voted for the blue dress and Betty voted for the white one.” You run a hand through your hair. “So we’re at an impasse. I don’t know which one to get.”

“You know who could give you their vote?” Pepper says.

“Who?”

“Your dad.”

“Won’t he just freak out on the why I’m buying dresses?”

“He knows there’s functions coming up. He doesn’t have to know they’re for Homecoming.” Pepper offers. “I can even send him the pictures if you want.” 

“Ok. I guess we can get his vote.” Pepper sends the text off to Tony with the two dresses it’s between. 

**P: Pick one of these.**

**T: Buy her both.**

**P: That doesn’t help. She wants to make a decision between the two.**

**T: They both look good on her. She can save them for a later date if she doesn’t wear them to whichever one. But don’t we have like three events coming up?**

**P: I didn’t say these were the only dresses she’s looking at.**

**T: Show me all of them.**

**T: Please**

“Your dad votes to buy both. He also wants to see the other dresses. Can I send them to him?”

“I should have known he would be no help in the situation.” You roll your eyes. “Send him the pictures if you want. He’ll see them eventually anyway.” Pepper shoots off the other pictures.

**T: You’re getting those two right?**

**P: If she let’s me, yes.**

**T: She should get all of them, she looks amazing.**

**T: Tell me where you are and I’ll come buy all of them.**

**P: Buying them isn’t the issue.**

“Your dad is just saying get them all.” 

“We said three though.”

“Technically you said there. I have no problem with getting all of them if you want to. And Tony is clearly ok with the idea of getting them all too.” Pepper says as you two walk towards the front counter to make a final decision.

“But I have no need for four dresses.” You say looking to where the four dresses are hanging.

“If you’re worried about that, your dad gets a million invites a year. He just chooses not to go to a lot of them. You and I can always go for him so we can use the dresses he buys. It’s more do you want them or not.”

“Wanting them isn’t the issue. I can want a million different things. I shouldn’t spend that much money on just dresses.” You say with a shrug.

“How about we get them and when you’re done with them we can find a place that utilizes dresses for girls who aren’t as fortunate?” Your eyebrows come together as you think about what Pepper’s offering. “Plus I have some that I can probably already get rid of. We can take a look when we get home.”

“Really?”

“Really. Now let’s buy your dresses and get home. I think I hear an afternoon of movies calling our names.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the latest chapter. Yes I know today is Thursday, since one of you was so kind, she says sarcastically, to tell me what days of the week it was on two separate comments. Life trumped fanfiction yesterday and I couldn't post. Please keep in mind that I do have a real life outside of fanfiction and sometimes it has to come first. Harping in the comment section because I didn't post just makes me feel shitty. But if you want to leave a comment telling me your favorite part or something you wish I had done differently, that's actually constructive instead of making me feel bad.  
> Lizzy


	22. Chapter 22

You’re grounded. But you already told Peter you’d go. And technically Pepper had said yes. So it was more just telling your dad you were going. Plus Pepper had already taken you shopping for the dress. It’ll be easy right?

_ Dad, I’m dating Peter and he asked me to homecoming- _ he’ll say no.

_ Dad, I know I’m grounded, but Pepper already said yes and bought me a dress and Peter asked me and I said yes- _ no that one is too wordy.

“Kiddo, why are you so stressed? Big science test?” Your dad asks, stealing an apple slice off your plate.

“Dad, I can talk to you about anything right?” Dramatic is good. Make him sweat a little.

“Yeah, of course. I’m always here for you.” He sits down across from you. “What’s going on?”

“Remember how we talked about homecoming? And I said I hadn’t been asked?” You look at him, trying to gage his reaction.

“Peter finally got his nerve together and asked you didn’t he?” Tony’s face remains calm and that surprisingly worries you more than if he had exploded. You nod. “And how are you feeling about that?”

“I told him yes.”

“So you and Peter?” You feel your face growing red, but you can’t help but smile. “Is this just a friendly date situation or do I need to wear the Iron Man suit when he picks you up and remind him what happens to boys who hurt my daughter?”

“I think we both know that Iron Man and Spider-Man fighting against each other isn’t a good idea.”

“He told you?” Now is when Tony’s face starts to get angry.

“Actually you told me some stuff and I figured it out.” Tony’s brows drop in confusion. “Ranting about Peter making a mess you had to clean up and then Iron Man and Spider-Man being all over the news with the Ferry? It kind of clicked. And then I confronted him and he didn’t exactly deny it. Although there was something about him losing an internship so I’m not sure how that works?”

“Kiddo-”

“Don’t kiddo me. I’m just telling you what happened. I’m trying the whole honesty thing with you, which I wish you had used with me.”

“You have enough superheroes in your life.”

“Yeah well now I’m dating one.”

“Which is the last thing I wanted for you.” Tony pauses and then looks at her. “Wait, dating. Since when?”

“About a week now.”

“I should just have FRIDAY lock you up. It’s safer.”

“Pepper would never let you. Plus, Spider-Man could come rescue me.” You tease.

“So when is this dance?” 

“Tomorrow…?” You say, revealing how late you waited on telling him.

“So dress shopping with Pepper? That was partially for Homecoming?” You nod. “Invite your friends to get ready here. It will make more sense anyway.”

“Really?”

“Technically you’re grounded, but there’s nothing saying your friends aren’t allowed to come over.” He steals another apple slice off your plate. “Also how did you explain the being grounded thing to Peter if you said yes to going?”

“Pepper gave me a pardon to go. She just said I had to be the one to tell you about my date.” You say with a smirk before adding, “Now stop stealing my food. I already bolused for it.”

Your friends had shown up at about three even though dates weren’t showing up until six to take photos. Dresses, makeup, hair straighteners and curlers, all the accessories came along too. Tony moved to the lab to be as far away from the loud voices and music while you and your friends got ready for a dance he honestly would have loved to keep you from. Even though he only found out about you a few months ago, you’re his little girl. Sending you off to a high school dance with a boy, even one he trusts, seems like too much. All he wants to do is put you in a set of comfy pjs and have movie night on the couch instead. But when you and your friends come down stairs to wait for your dates, he knows that he should keep you home. You look too good in the dress you picked with Pepper and even with the little bits of jewelry and your white high tops, he knows that Peter is going to think you look perfect too. 

“I should have known having a teenage girl meant too many kids at the house.” Tony mumbles to Pepper. 

“You love it though. Look how happy Y/N is.” Y/N is standing with her friends who are waiting for their dates, if they have them. Most of the dates are casual. You are the only one who is going with a significant other, even though it’s relatively new. There are also some other parents at the house to take pictures of the group. Liz and her parents. Betty and her mom, Astrid and her dads, MJ and her parents as well as a couple other girls from your extended friend group and their parents came over earlier. 

Ned is the first of the boys to arrive. He had, at the last minute, asked Astrid to be his date. A boy from Liz’s calculus class asked her a few days into this last week. And Betty was excited to be going with Marcus. Tony’s eyes float around the room. The one person he’s waiting to see, because he knows it will make you happy, hasn’t arrived yet. He hasn’t seen Peter since the ferry incident, but he’s willing to put everything aside to make you happy. You are the center of his world. The doorbell rings, and in walks May and Peter Parker.

Peter is wearing a navy suit and white button down with a blue striped tie that matches your dress. The shoes are what makes you know that Peter’s perfect. He’s wearing leather converse. His face brightens when he sees you. “Hey there Parker. Took you long enough.”

“Train delay.” He holds out a box with a white roses tied with blue ribbons. “I showed May your dress and she helped me pick one that would look good with it. You look amazing babe.” He leans to kiss you, but switches to your cheek at the last minutes feeling Tony watching.

“Thanks, it has pockets. Pepper had them alter it so that Queenie would have a place to reside.” You explain showing him. “Also I see the greatest minds think alike.” You kick his converse with yours.

“Let’s take some pictures everyone!” Pepper says, directing the group to the center of the living room. Peter feels weird being back in the living room where he’s spent so much time with you and your, well, parents. But this night is about making you feel special. So he wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you close. He smiles for the first group photo, leaning towards you. But then he notices the man standing over in the corner. It’s the Vulture he’s been fighting.

Tony had been watching the smile on your face. He loves it. It could light up his world. Sure, does he wish there wasn’t a fifteen year old wrapped around the center of his universe? Of course. But if he had to choose anyone to be able to protect her, he would probably pick Peter. Why does he look so upset though? He looked fine in the first few pictures. So why does he look so serious now? Pepper mentions something about individual couple photos and since you and Peter aren’t first, he decides to follow his gut. “I’m going to play the dad card for a moment.”

“Dad, seriously? It’s not like you don’t know him.” You roll your eyes.

“Dating and evil villains, my prerogatives.” He reminds you.

“He’s only scary if you let him be.” You remind Peter as you place a kiss on his cheek. Tony tries to not think about how casual you two already are with the PDA. Right now he needs to know why Peter looks so spooked. Peter hasn’t said a word to Tony since entering the house, but maybe he deserved that. 

“Kid-”

“Mr. Stark. I swear I’m going to take good care of Y/N.”

“Kid that’s not why I brought you in here.” Peter looks up at Tony with confusion and almost hurt, or is that anger? Tony doesn’t know. “I mean that’s good to know. And I’m glad to hear that and we can talk about your intentions at another time. But you went from all smiley and happy to sullen and scared. My gut tells me something's off.”

“I’m not your problem anymore Mr. Stark.” The talk after the ferry rings in Peter’s mind. His mind is screaming at him that he should just tell him that whoever’s dad that is, is the Vulture. But he doesn’t want to burden Mr. Stark. 

“Kid-”

“Mr. Stark I should go. Tonight’s all about Y/N.” His spidey sense is tingling. He needs to figure a way to deal with the Vulture. But he can’t ruin tonight for you. “It was nice to see you sir.” So they’re back to Mr. Stark and sir. Taking away the suit did more than just stop the kid, it wrecked him. Or at least wrecked Tony’s relationship with the kid.

“Kid, if you need anything. I’m here for you.” Peter pauses, and looks like he wants to say something, but instead pulls a tight smile before returning to the living room.

“Perfect, it’s your turn to take pictures.” Peter places a kiss on your cheek as he wraps an arm around you. Pepper takes some pictures of the two of you.

“Happy is waiting outside to take you two and from the dance. He will drop Mr. Parker home before bringing you home. And then after this you’re back to being grounded yes?”

“I know.”

“You’re only getting to go because Pepper told you you could and we all know she’s the actual boss here.”

“What did you get grounded for?” Betty asks.

“Living.” You half explain, rolling your eyes.

“Now, I love you and if you need and/or want Iron Man to show up and make Homecoming more fun, you know who to call.”

“Bye Dad. You’re ridiculous.”

“Love you.” Tony kisses your forehead.

“Love you too.” You give Pepper a hug. “Love you Pepper.”

“Have fun. You look beautiful. Love you.” She gives Peter a hug too. “Take good care of her.”

“I will. Bye May.”

You roll up the partition once in the car. Peter looks at you with a smirk. “If you didn’t want Happy to know that we make out-”

“What happened in the house?”

“With your dad? Nothing honestly.”

“No with you.” Peter looks at you, not wanting to have to explain what happened, but knowing he should.

“You know the whole Ferry thing?”

“Yeah.”

“That man that was at your house, in the blue and black flannel. He’s the head bad guy behind it all.”

“So you told my dad right?”

“No.”

“Peter-”

“Your dad already thinks I messed up enough. So if I can catch this guy then maybe I can prove I can do something right.”

“And you think you can do that tonight don’t you?”

“Would you hate me if I did?” Peter asks honestly.

“If that’s what being Spider-Man’s girlfriend is like, then I guess you win some, you lose some. So how are we going to find him?”

“No, no, no. I promised Mr. Stark I would take good care of you.” Peter’s hands are grasping yours. “I am not putting you in danger.”

“I won’t be in danger. If I even think about setting foot off of MSST, my dad will suit up and come find me. However, I can help you find him with the help of a certain AI. If you got fired from your internship, I have a feeling my dad grounded you from tech?”

“He took the suit.”

“So you’re back in the onesie?”

“Why do all of you Starks think it’s a onesie?” Peter throws his head back. “But yes I’ll be back in my original suit.”

“So you work on getting the suit. I’ll get our AI friend to track the car.” You glance towards the closed partition. “Happy is heading into the city while we’re supposed to be at the dance to monitor the start of moving day stuff. So he shouldn’t be an issue of monitoring us as long as I stay at MSST. But how are you going to find the bad guy? Like how are you going to get there?”

“I’ll figure something out once I get the suit.” Suddenly something clicks within Peter. “Hold on did you say Spider-Man’s girlfriend?” You flash a smile at him.

“If you’re ok with that.”

“More than ok with that.” He pulls you close and gives you a searing kiss. “I swear I will make it up to you that I missed our first dance together.”

“We have so many other high school dances. Right now we need to worry about a bad guy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo new update! This chapter was a blast to write so I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think!


	23. Chapter 23

“Astrid, I will owe you forever, but I have to steal Ned.” Astrid looks at you in shock.

“Why?”

“I’ll explain later. It’s a Stark emergency.” Ned looks confused but follows you out of the gym. 

“What’s the Stark emergency?” Ned asks as you walk towards the library.

“I’d say it’s more of a guy in the chair type of emergency.” Peter had told you to get Ned and utilize him as much as possible. You had FRIDAY through your phone, but Ned would be able to do what FRIDAY wouldn’t or couldn’t do. “FRIDAY have you tracked that car yet?”

“Working on it Y/N.”

“Why are we tracking a car?”

“So you know Liz’s dad? He’s the bad guy that Peter’s been fighting.”

“Peter told you?”

“Of course he told me.” You laugh as you push Ned towards a chair. “The issue is he refuses to tell my dad about Liz’s dad. So it’s up to us to help him out. Plus we can’t tell Happy or Happy will tell my dad and my dad will come storming in.” Your phone goes off. Dad’s calling now? You let it ring a couple times as if you were in the gym at the dance. “Kind of in the middle of something.”

“Wow, ok I see how that feels now. But I just wanted to let you know kiddo, Happy is going to be dealing with the move stuff so slight change of plans. I’m going to pick you and Peter up after the dance.”

“What? Can’t you just send one of the other security people?”

“And let you make out with Parker the whole ride home I don’t think so.”

“Y/N your search results are ready.” 

“What is FRIDAY searching for you?”

“Had a bet over who the population thinks is hotter One Direction or Five Seconds of Summer. She was pulling the results.”

“Who?”

“Two different bands. Anyway I have to get back to the dance Dad. Peter is waiting.”

“Step on his toes at least twice while you’re dancing and tell him that hands remain hip level or higher or I will blast him with the Iron Man gauntlets when I pick you up.”

“Bye Dad.” As soon as you hang up, your phone rings again, but this time it’s Peter.

“Peter, my dad is planning to pick us up from the dance, so we have about three hours to do this.”

“Wait why?”

“Apparently, Happy got tied up with moving day stuff at the tower. Too many things that are having to get flown.”

“Moving day… Moving day! He’s going to rob that plane!”

“That makes no sense. It’s just old Avengers stuff. All the important stuff has already been moved out of the Tower.” You put Peter on speaker and pull up the map that shows where the car went. “This is where he is. Help get Peter there. I’m going to get a hold of Happy and try and get him to divert the plane.”

“Will Happy do that?” Peter asks.

“I’m a Stark. He works for me.” You say with all the confidence you don’t feel. You send the GPS location to Ned and take Peter off speaker. “Peter be careful out there.”

“I will. I always am.” 

“I feel like we should let my dad know about this. You should have some backup.”

“Y/N-”

“I’m not saying you can’t do this. But I’m worried.”

“I’ll be fine. I have to prove to your dad that I can do this. Right now, he doesn’t even know I’m coming. I can take him by surprise.” You can hear the sound of horns honking. Peter doesn’t even drive so the fact that he’s driving now worries you. “I’ll be ok.”

“I’ll be waiting for you. Stay safe.”

“I will. I gotta call Ned. Call Happy.”

“Ok, bye.” You want to say something more, but it’s too soon, no matter how you feel about him. “FRIDAY call Happy.”

“Calling Happy.”

“Y/N, is the dance over already? Did Tony not call you?”

“Happy, please tell me the plane hasn’t taken off yet.”

“It just did.”

“Divert it.”

“What?”

“Happy, I don’t have time to explain. Divert the plane.”

“Kid, I don’t have time for this.”

“I don’t have time for you to be insubordinate. Last I checked I’m a Stark and you work for me. I said divert the fucking plane.”

“Kid I don’t know where this attitude is coming from, but the plane is already headed where it's supposed to be.”

“Then make it land. Right fucking now.”

“Kid, I don’t have time for this. I need to go.”

“When this all crashes and burns, remember that I tried to warn you.”

“Whatever you say kid. But save the dramatics for your dad ok? I have work to do.” Happy hangs up the phone and looks out the window of the tower. She didn’t mean literally crash and burn did she? Because that seriously looks like their plane is crashing right now. Tony is going to kill him.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Tony asks.

“Saving your ass.” You slide into the front seat.

“Excuse me?”

“Some vulture guy? Stealing Avengers things? Moving day? Tried to tell Happy, but he didn’t want to listen.”

“So your boyfriend went to go after them? With what his sheer wits?”

“And a onesie.” You sass back.

“I swear you two kids are going to be the death of me.” Tony looks over at you while keeping a hand on the steering wheel. “What about the dance?”

“There will be other dances. But someone has to save the world right?”

“That sounds super smart.”

“Well it’s a paraphrase of something that someone super smart once told me.”

“Oh yeah and who was that.”

“Pepper.”

“She’s a pretty smart lady.”

“I agree.”

“She made a pretty smart suggestion.”

“Oh yeah, what was that?”

“She said your boyfriend should be an Avenger.”

“I thought he already was one.”

“He was more of a part time one.”

“Well seeing as he saved your ass, I think he deserved it.”

“Well seeing as I’ve called him your boyfriend three times and you haven’t denied it…”

“Why deny something that’s true?”

“When did this change?”

“Tonight. Speaking of changing things, when are you going to finally ask?”

“Ask what?”

“Pepper to marry you? She’s the best person you’ll ever get. So you should ask her before she decides that she could find someone better.”

“Find someone better than Iron Man?”

“She’s Pepper Potts, she could have anyone she wants. You need to let her know you’re committed before it’s too late.”

“Would you be ok if I did?”

“I’d be more than ok! She’s the better parent in this situation I’m trapped in and you marrying her would make her officially my parent.”

“She already thinks of you as her kid, whether or not it’s official. But we can look at making it more official if you want.”

“Really?”

“Really. We can talk with Pepper about it, but she loves you too kiddo. I will say I'm hurt that you think she’s the better parent.”

“I’ll say you’re the better parent on one condition.”

“What’s your condition?”

“You give Peter his internship back.”

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops no monday upload. But we're here today! Let me know what you thought of the chapter!


	24. Chapter 24

“You don’t see that every day.” Happy says as the Quinjet takes off.

“Oh there they are. How was the ride up?” Tony’s voice speaks from behind them.

“Good.” Happy replies before adding, “Sent Y/N off to do some homework.”

“Give me a minute with the kid.” Tony says looking at Peter.

“Seriously?” 

“Yeah. I gotta talk to the kid.”

“I’ll be close behind.”

“How about a loose follow? All right? Boundaries are good.” Tony punches Peter lightly on the shoulder before pulling him in for a side hug. “Sorry I took your suit. You had it coming. Actually it turns out it was the perfect sort of tough love moment that you needed, right? To urge you on? Wouldn’t you think? Don’t you think?”

“I guess.”

“Let’s just say it was.”

“Mr. Stark, I really-”

“You screwed the pooch hard, big time. But then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies. Alright not my best analogy. I was wrong about you. I think with a little more mentoring, you could be a real asset to the team.”

“To the… to the team?”

“Yeah. Anyway. There’s about fifty reporters behind that door, real ones, not bloggers. When you’re ready, why don’t you try that on?” Tony opens a door with a double tap of his watch. “And I’ll introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers: Spider-Man.”

“I… uh….”

“Yeah, give that a look. So after the press conference, Happy will show you to your room, your new quarters. Where’s he between? He’s next to Vision?”

“Yeah, Vision’s not big on doors.” Happy says with a slight smirk.

“It’s fun.” Tony nods.

“Or walls.” Happy tacks on.

“You’ll fit right in.”

“This is to keep me away from Y/N right?” Peter asks.

“No, but if that’s an added bonus I’ll take it.” Tony says honestly.

“Thank you Mr. Stark, Tony. But I’m good.”

“You’re good? Good-? How are you good?”

“Well, I mean, I’d rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Somebody’s got to look out for the little guy, right?”

“You’re turning me down?” Tony pulls off his sunglasses. “You better think about this. Look at that. Look at me. Last chance, yes or no?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

“It’s kind of a Springsteen-y. Working class hero vibe that I dig. Happy will take you home.”

“Isn’t Y/N here?” Peter asks, knowing that you came in the car with them.

“Yes, but she is hanging out with the Avengers. Or doing homework if she knows what’s good for her. Don’t you have some Spider-Maning to do?”

“I think I can take the afternoon off to be a good boyfriend. Especially after I gave up the Homecoming to save the world.”

“We will have a sit down to talk about your intentions with my daughter when you come to intern next week.” Tony’s face goes serious as he looks at Peter.

“I’m interning again?”

“It’s too much work to find a new intern, plus you already know your way around the workshop.”

“Thank you Mr. Stark.”

“Yes Mr. Parker. I’ll see you around. Tell Y/N her homework needs to be done before we drive back to Queens.”

“Sure Tony.” Peter starts to walk away as Tony sends the Iron Spider Suit back to the lab. He turns around and asks, “That was a test right? There’s nobody back there.”

“Yes you passed. Alright, skedaddle there young buck.”

“Thank you Mr. Stark.”

“Yeah thank you.”

“Told you he’s a good kid.” Happy says softly. Pepper’s name is called as the door to all the reporters is opened. 

“Where’s the kid?” Pepper asks.

“He left.” Happy responds

“Everybody’s waiting.”

“He actually made a mature choice.” Tony points at himself and Happy as he says, “It just surprised the heck out of us.”

“Did you guys screw this up? I have a room full of people in there waiting for some big announcement. What will I tell them?”

“Think of something. How about…? Hap, you still got that ring?”

“Do I…? I…?” Happy goes digging in his pockets.

“The engagement ring.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been carrying this since 2008.” Pepper’s face doesn’t read totally agreeing.

“Okay.” Tony almost stumbles over the words.

“I think I can think of something a little better.” Pepper says.

“Well it would buy us a little time.” Tony mentions as Pepper steps forward to kiss him. “Like we need a little time.” The words are mumbled against her lips.

“I can’t believe you have that in your pocket.”

“Want me to get the door for you hon?”

“I got it.” Happy flips Tony the ring, just in case. 

Peter walks into the common area to find you working on homework with Vision. “See, that’s how you get the answer.”

“Thanks Vis. You’re the best.” You reply as you write down your answer.

“Chemistry?” Peter asks, sitting down next to you. 

“Calculus. Sometimes I forget that it’s worse than Chemistry. But Vision is really good at, well, everything. So he was helping. What did my dad want?” You ask, putting your pencil down and looking away from your homework.

“He wanted to announce that I was an Avenger to a bunch of reporters.”

“When’s the press conference?”

“Oh it’s not happening. It was a test. I’m not actually going to be an Avenger.” Your eyebrows pull together as you think about the drive you and your dad had after Homecoming when he said he was going to make Peter one. This made no sense, but you’ll ask your dad about this later. “So Calculus?”

“I have a feeling if my homeworks not done by the time my dad and Pepper want to head home, I’ll be in more trouble than I already am.” You say with an eye roll. “Some of us are hoping to get out of being grounded by being on their best behavior. Can’t go on a date when you're grounded remember?”

“Good behavior sounds like a good plan then.” Peter says with a smile.

“I thought you might agree too.” Peter goes to pull his phone out, but can feel you raising an eyebrow at him.

“What?” He can’t help but ask.

“Don’t you think it would be a good idea to show my dad that you’re a good influence of a boyfriend by doing your homework too?”

“So we’re having a study date?” 

“Something of that kind.” You tease, turning back to your calculus. Vision already looking over the problem, just in case you need help. Peter goes to pull his books out of his backpack that you had taken with you when you left him and Happy earlier. He may have a lot of science and math homework, but he thinks if you can deal with doing your harder subjects, he can tackle his too. So he’ll work on his History essay and maybe even read the chapters in the book he needs to read for English.

When Pepper and Tony finish the press conference, new ring on Pepper’s finger, they find you and Peter lounging on the sofas of the common area, but working on your school work. “So I see we’re being studious.” Tony teases. You look up but instead of saying anything, the sparkle of Pepper’s left hand catches your eye.

“No!” You say, smile breaking through.

“No?” Pepper asks. “I was under the impression you wanted him to ask?” You shove your books aside and sprint off the couch to her side. 

“He finally did? For real?” 

“For real.” Pepper says with a smile as you throw your arms around her.

“You’re going to be my mom. I mean stepmom.” You correct yourself, not wanting to assume anything. She was agreeing to marry your dad, not be anything more to you. 

“I’m going to be your mom, more than I already was.” She says with a laugh.

“Do I not get a hug?” Tony asks, teasing. “I’m the one who actually asked.”

“Only because I told you you needed to actually do it.” You tease back, but you wrap your arms around him. “Congrats!”

“Thanks kiddo.” Your dad places a kiss on your forehead before pulling Pepper in closer. With his two best girls, nothing could go wrong with this day. 

“Can I see the ring?” You ask, having not seen it up close yet.

“Of course.” Pepper says holding out her hand towards you. Tony keeps a hand wrapped around both of you as you gaze at the ring resting on Pepper’s fourth finger. Tony has wanted that ring to be on Pepper’s hand for months, if not years, if he’s being completely honest. He had just been too afraid to actually ask, in case she had said no. Was getting her to say yes for a press conference how he had expected it to go? No. But he will take her yes no matter what. Will he probably ask her again, just to make sure she has a private moment too? Yes. She deserves that and so much more. He may even get her a different ring so she has an even better one than one that has been in Happy’s pocket since 2008. Not that this ring isn’t beautiful, but maybe she needs a better one. Pepper just deserves so much more. And Tony can give her so much more so why doesn’t he? Plus he could take you along to pick out the perfect one. That would be the best. Having you help pick out the perfect ring, yeah, that would be the best.

So that’s how you and your dad ended up at a jewelry store a few weeks later. “Didn’t you already propose?” You ask, looking at the case of rings in front of you. 

“Yes, but… that ring isn’t good enough. I want a better one for her. She deserves the best one.” 

“But she said yes. Doesn’t that mean it’s good enough?”

“Good enough, sure. But I want the best for her. It’s what she deserves. The absolute best.” Tony states as he looks at the case sitting in front of him. You look around the store that you never would have stepped foot in before knowing your dad. There’s no prices anywhere, but you know that without your dad’s money, you could never afford a glass of water here much less anything actually sold in this store. But you’re not here to purchase anything for you. You’re here for Pepper. So you glance at the rings your dad is looking at. There are a bunch of pretty ones, but which one could you see sitting on your one day to be stepmother’s hand?

All of them are silver, and most of them have clear diamonds. There are a few that have yellow diamonds or a different gem on them, such as a sapphire, emerald, or ruby. But any of the ones with other colored gems just seem over the top for Pepper. “What are you thinking Dad?”

“Something like that?” He points at an oval cut diamond that is pretty but you don’t think it will perfectly suit Pepper.

“I don’t think an oval is really Pepper’s style.” But Lila, the girl who is helping you all today, pulls the ring out nonetheless, showing it to your dad. He passes it to you. You roll it around in your hand as Lila starts talking.

“So that’s our The One, Oval-Shaped Diamond Micropavé Engagement Ring. It’s a great ring since it has the diamond both in the center as well as wrapping around the band. We have a bunch of different The One styled rings depending on shape of diamond, but this one features an oval-shaped diamond center stone, framed by micropavé diamonds, set on a micropavé band. Starting from $24,600 with the one carat diamond and goes up in price.” Your stomach sinks to your toes as you hear the price of the ring. You know that your dad has money, but spending this much money in one sitting is something that you hadn’t ever imagined doing. “You can try it on if you want Y/N.” Lila says. “I know it’s for your soon to be stepmother, but sometimes it helps to see it on your hand versus just holding it.” You look up at your dad, cautious about putting on a nearly twenty five thousand dollar ring on your finger. 

“It’s ok kiddo. You’re not going to have a ring like that on your finger from anyone anytime soon if I have my way.” Your dad teases. You slide the ring that doesn’t quite fit on your finger. It’s pretty, but it doesn’t seem like the kind of ring that you could see on Pepper’s finger. There’s just something… off about it. “What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful. But I don’t think it’s the right one for Pepper.” Your dad doesn’t say anything but nods as you take off the ring and hand it back to Lila. “What about that one?” You point to the one sitting next to it in the display case. It’s similar, but not identical.

“Another good choice. This is The One, Round Brilliant Diamond Micropavé Engagement Ring. This one features a round brilliant diamond center stone, framed by micropavé diamonds, set on a micropavé band instead of the oval diamond like the one you were just looking at.” Lila explains as she pulls the ring out. “This one starts at $11,000 with 0.50 carats for partial micropavé and 1.00 carat for micropavé, with micropavé on frame and band, set in platinum.” She sets the ring in front of you, but reaches for another one in the case. “We also have one more in the same style as these two. Since you both seem to like that style.” She pulls out the other ring and sets it next to the other. The bands look similar, but the centers are where the difference lies. “So this is the One, Cushion-Cut Diamond Micropavé Engagement Ring. Like the other two it features a cushion-cut diamond center stone, framed by micropavé diamonds, set on a micropavé band. The pricing on this one starts at $22,500 with the center stones starting from 1.00 carat, with micropavé on frame and band, set in platinum,” Lila explains as she points at the different parts of the ring.

“What do you think?” You ask your dad, though he’s staring at the two different rings.

“I think I might be leaning towards that third ring.” You don’t want to admit that you kind of were too from the moment it was taken out of the case. 

“Do you want to try it on so your dad can see what it looks like?” Lila asks. You nod as you slip on the ring that you honestly can imagine sitting on your mo- on Pepper’s finger easily. 

“Wow.” The word leaves your dad’s mouth on a breath. “That’s the one I think kiddo.”

“It is really pretty. I think she would like it a lot. Although I’m pretty sure she’ll also tell you she was perfectly happy with the ring she has too.” Lila starts pulling out diamonds for your dad to pick through for the ring.

“Even if she was. That’s the ring that deserves to be on her finger. You want to look around at the rest of the jewelry while I go through the boring part of this?” 

“You don’t want help with that? Usually you throw the boring stuff on Pepper.” 

“I’ve got this kiddo. You look around.” You shrug and look around the display cases. There’s a bunch of beautiful things here, including pieces you’re pretty sure you’ve seen in Pepper’s jewelry box. But there’s a few that catch your eyes. A set of earrings here, a bracelet there. Not that you’d  _ ever _ buy them for yourself, because if the base price of Pepper’s ring told you anything, you would never be walking in here to buy anything willingly. This place was way too pricey. It doesn’t matter if you have money sitting around waiting for you to turn eighteen. You survived for years without money. Just because you have some now doesn’t mean that you need to turn into Blair Waldorf. You don’t realize you’ve zoned out on a bracelet until your dad’s voice comes up from beside you. “You like that one?” 

“Huh? What?”

“That bracelet? Is it you?” He asks, pulling you from your mind.

“I mean maybe? It’s probably way out of my price range.” Your dad goes to open his mouth, but you hold your hand up. “ _ My  _ price range. Not yours.”

“Well no one said you can’t try it on.” Lila is standing in front of you, opening the case and pulling out the bracelet you had zoned out on. She opens the clasp and holds it out to you. You turn your head back to your dad, who nods with a smile. Taking a deep breath, you lift your wrist and hold it out to Lila, who clasps the bracelet around your wrist.

“So this is our Sunflower by Harry Winston, Small Diamond Bracelet. We also have it in a larger diamond style, but I think the smaller one suits your wrist better. The collection is inspired by the beauty of nature, so it’s a cluster of diamonds and are set with minimal metal to maximize the light returned. The result is a three-dimensional sculpture of brilliance that captures the delicate symmetry of a sunflower. 198 round brilliant diamonds weighing a total of approximately 9.70 carats, set in platinum. The starting price on this-” Tony waves his hand, cutting Lila off. 

“We’ll take it.” Tony knew from shopping for jewelry for Pepper that your bracelet had cost more than Pepper’s ring. He wasn’t going to let you know that, especially with how you tend to be around money. But apparently just the idea of owning a diamond bracelet was a bit much for you.

“Dad, I don’t need it. Really. I have no place to wear something like this.”

“There’s a few functions I can think of where a bracelet like that would come in handy. Plus, it’s something that can be passed down. I like buying you nice things.” Tony nods to Lila to start the process of buying it, giving you a few more moments of wearing the bracelet that is now yours. You glance down at your wrist.

“Dad, this place is expensive. You could buy a bracelet at a department store and I’d be perfectly happy. I don’t need a nine carat bracelet.”

“I know you don’t need it. But I want you to have it. It looks beautiful on you and you deserve to have some beautiful things.”

“Beautiful fine. But I don’t need a diamond bracelet that I can’t wear most days.”

“I know you don’t need it. It’s one of the things I love about you. But I also love buying the ladies in my life beautiful gifts. Plus walking out of here with that makes more sense to the paps than us coming in here and walking out with a ring when I already proposed to Pepper.” You realize he’s probably right, even if you don’t need a thousands of dollars bracelet.

“Fine, but only to cover you from the paparazzi.” Tony’s going to have to find other ways to buy you gifts, because there is so much more in this world he wants to give you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween to those who celebrate! Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! Let me know what you thought.


	25. Chapter 25

You were supposed to be working on homework. But when things come flying at you, you tend to get distracted. You look up after being hit by the envelope that probably holds some sort of clothing item. Your dad stands in the doorway with a smirk on his face. “I’m not target practice.”

“I guess I should have said catch first.” You look at the package, noting that it has Pepper’s name on the address label.

“You gave this to the wrong female. This is Pepper’s package.”

“She ordered it, but she told me that if it arrived today to make sure I gave it to you. It’s a present from her to you.” Tony shrugs. “She didn’t tell me what it was, but said she saw it online and thought of you.”

“She’s still overseas right?” Pepper had left yesterday to go to Japan, or was it China, for SI business. Tony nods. 

“She’ll be gone for another couple days.” He says as you rip the envelope open to see a grey t-shirt inside. You pull it out of the plastic it sits in so you can unfold it to read the black print. ‘My Mama Don’t Like You (I Told Her Everything)’. Your hand raises to move your hair behind your ear as your eyebrows fall. You read the words over and over again. Pepper bought this for you? She’s just your dad’s fiance- she isn’t related to you and she’s not your mom, as much as you wish she was. Maybe they sent the wrong shirt? “What’s wrong? Do you not like it?” Tony asks, noticing the hesitation and confusion that has taken place on your face.

“I think they sent the wrong shirt. This one just doesn’t make sense.” You hold it up to show the shirt to your dad. Ok, so maybe the shirt wasn’t the best way for Pepper to approach the question she had been wanting to approach with you. He was only slightly hiding the truth when he had said he didn’t know what the present was. Pepper had talked over her idea with Tony over and over again to make sure she wasn’t overstepping her bounds. And Tony loved it. But you were clearly missing what Pepper’s point was.

“Maybe give Pep a call.”

“Isn’t it like almost 6am?” You ask, knowing Pepper had made a comment about losing half a day.

“I think she’ll be ok with this wake up call.” Tony places a kiss on your forehead. You grab your phone and dial Pepper’s number, not understanding what’s going on at all. The phone rings twice before it clicks.

“Y/N! Is everything ok?”

“I’ll be honest, that's a better reaction then when I call Dad half the time. But everything is fine. I just got the shirt, or well a shirt, and Dad said I should give you a call. I know it’s super early, but-”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.” You hear rustling on Pepper’s end, as if she’s getting out of bed. “What do you think of it?”

“I think they sent the wrong shirt to be honest?”

“Wait what? I checked the order sheet like a million times.” Pepper explains. “What shirt is there?”

“It’s this shirt that says My Mama Don’t Like You, I Told Her Everything.” Your cheeks get hot as you explain the shirt they sent. You hope Pepper doesn’t feel bad that they sent this one instead of whatever she was trying to send.

“Oh.” A sigh of relief comes from the other end of the phone. “That’s the right shirt.”

“Wait, then I really don’t understand.”

“I had hoped the shirt would arrive while I was there so I could talk to you in person about this, but if you’re up for it we can have this discussion over the phone.”

“I’d rather not put off this confusion.” You say honestly.

“I love you a lot. First and foremost. I want you to know that. And I talked to your dad a lot about that because I know that he and I are going to get married at some point in the somewhat near future. Which will make us even more family than we already are.” Pepper’s speech sounds thought out but like she is rambling at the same time.

“And you’re already my found family.” You add, wanting to help her out.

“That’s very true.” Pepper takes a breath. “But, if you feel up to it, I’d like to be more than that. I want to be more than just your found family or even just your dad’s fiance or your eventual stepmother.”

“What kind of more were you thinking of?” You can’t help but ask.

“Again this is if you want it too, but I would love to adopt you.” The words knock the air out of your lungs. “Y/N I love you as if you are my daughter already, and I’ve talked with Tony about it because I know that when the wedding happens we will legally be a family in terms of law, but I want to be your mom in all the ways I can be. And if your dad and I have kids, I want them to be your siblings completely too. And I just love you as if you are my child already.” You can’t find the words to answer her and Pepper takes it as a negative. “You don’t have to answer now, or ever if you want. I just wanted you to know how I felt. And no matter your decision in the matter I won’t stop loving you.” Across the ocean, the usually calm Pepper Potts is running a hand through her hair as the silence on the other end of the phone unnerves her. “Maybe I should have waited on this, or not have done this but I just couldn’t keep it to myself anymore how much I love you Y/N-”

“I love you too Pepper.” Your voice on the other end of the phone calms her racing heart to know that you’re at least on the other end of the phone still. “I just… this was kind of the last thing I expected.”

“What were you expecting?” Pepper asks, trying to figure out where you’re at with all of this.

“Honestly I thought it was the wrong shirt. I thought you were going to be as shocked as I was. I mean Dad didn’t seem totally surprised by it, but I guess that makes sense since you said you talked to him.”

“Do you have any thoughts on the matter?”

“Probably a million that are all lost in my mind right now.” You say honestly. 

“I’d take even one.” Pepper says with a smile.

“I’ve never had someone who wanted to be my mother.” The truth slips out before you meant for it too. “I mean like my mom, my birth mom clearly wanted me enough to not get rid of me, but alcohol and drugs were more important than me.” You find yourself looking at the quilt at the end of your bed. “But you want to be my mom?” The question slips out on a whisper.

“More than anything sweetheart.” You bite the inside of your cheek before breathing out something that you hadn’t expected to say.

“Ok, then you can adopt me.” You and Pepper talk for a few more minutes, catching her up about school.

“I would love to keep talking with you honey, but I have to get ready for work.” Pepper explains.

“That’s fine. I’ll see you when you get home. I love you.”

“I love you too.” When your phone returns to the homescreen, you text the first person you want to share the news with.

**Y: pepper is going to adopt me.**

**PP: are we excited about this or upset? just trying to gauge the level of memes i should send.**

**Y: happy i think. it’s all pretty new still, but it’s a good thing.**

**PP: i’m happy for you babe. this sounds like something that should be celebrated. maybe some ice cream? :)**

**Y: you’ll have to take a number. pretty sure iron man is going to demand a celebration as soon as i walk downstairs and tell him i said yes.**

**PP: he doesn’t know?**

**Y: pepper asked me on the phone, he was downstairs. prob to let me make my own decision**

**PP: let me know if he goes over the top in celebrating.**

**Y: i’ll call my mom back from japan if he tries too.**

After sending the text you read over the response and realize that for the first time in almost fourteen and a half years- you have a mom. If you’re being honest, you’ve had a mom for a while. But now it’s official. Now you just have to tell your dad.

“So did you get the shirt thing figured out?” Tony asks as you sit down across from his workbench, fidgeting but not really working as he waits to hear what you told Pepper. You don’t really come down to the lab often, but you look at the car he’s working on as he talks to you.

“Yeah, we figured it out.” You say, making sure to not give anything away.

“Was it the right shirt or not?”

“Since when do you care about the shirts I get?” You tease, thinking back to all the times he’s given you shit about your shirts.

“Quiet often. But more so you have caught my curiosity about whether the shirt was right or not.” You are definitely his kid with how much you’re not telling him.

You shrug before saying, “it was the right shirt.”

“So do you like the shirt?”

“I mean it’s a thoughtful gift I guess? I can always use a new shirt.” You know what he wants to know. But you’re going to play his game of not saying things.

“God. Ok I get it, not being told things is frustrating. Just tell me! What did you tell Pep?”

“Who’s to say I said anything?”

“Because you’re my kid. We make impulsive decisions but we stick with the decision. So I know you already decided and gave her an answer.”

“About?” you tease.

“Is Pepper adopting you or not?” Tony spells out.

“I mean she’s already my mom so why not make it legally official,” you shrug as if it was no big deal. Tony drops his wrench and pulls you into his arms. “Why are you so excited? It changes absolutely nothing for you? I’m still your kid, she’s still your fiance.”

“Because she was hoping you would say yes, which means I was hoping you would say yes. But I wasn’t going to push you in one direction if you were feeling another. But both my girls being happy? That makes me happy.”

“You’re a sap, you know that?” you tease.

“I’m a dad. I’m allowed to be a sap.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys we only have three more chapters to go! That means by next Monday (if I post all the days I'm supposed to) the final chapter will go up! There is going to be a sequel though and I'm already working on writing it. So idk when it will start getting posted, maybe in December? But soon I promise!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for this chapter, there is some homophobic and biphobic words here. I do not have these thoughts, especially as a member of the LGBT community, but it was needed for the chapter. If this might trigger you feel free to skip this chapter, it is not required to still understand the rest of the story. Stay safe everyone!

You love the converse that Pepper had gotten you. They’re Bi Pride Flag converse. How could you not love them? What you didn’t think about, was the fact that the press didn’t know about your sexuality. And now you were dealing with the headache on Twitter of being trending for coming out, even though you actually came out years ago.

**@Y/NStark will burn in hell for being a sinner! #gayequalityequalshell**

**@Y/NStark IS A BI ICON!**

**Why not come out as gay already @Y/NStark? #bisexualityisntreal**

**@Y/NStark is tainted goods it would seem #pickaside**

**So you’re saying I have a chance with @Y/NStark after all? #gaypridewin**

Sure there were positive thrown in with the negative, but this was frustrating. You’ve been out since forever. You never had to really come out because you told Nana you wanted to marry both your best friends when you were younger, Betty being one and the other being a boy in your neighborhood called Nico. You just never grew out of that, even though you outgrew those crushes. Nana and Pops were always really supportive. Pepper and Tony have been supportive as well. Dealing with the entire internet judging you though? That was a bit harder.

**PP: you ok?**

**Y: i’m everywhere. i didn’t know a pair of shoes was this big of news.**

**PP: it’ll die down eventually.**

**Y: i just hate how judgemental people are. i’ve already been told to burn in hell more times than i can count and that’s just on twitter.**

You look up from your phone as your dad walks up from his lab. “So you’re trending it seems.”

“Apparently wearing a pair of shoes is a big deal.”

“Well you did basically come out to the whole world. But I don’t agree with a lot of what they’re saying and I don’t think you should read it.” He says, pulling your phone from your hand. “You are so very loved and whoever you love is wonderful.”

“I just didn’t know a pair of shoes was going to cause this much drama.”

“I don’t think Pepper did either.” Tony’s eyes search yours. “This is all about you kiddo. How do you want us to run with it?”

“I’m not ashamed of who I am. I never have been. If people want to be assholes about it, that’s their problem.”

“That’s my girl.” Your dad wraps an arm around you. 

“But if I took a Tony Stark approach to this, would that be a bad thing?” Tony searches your face trying to see what you mean, but asks for no further information.

“This is about your sexuality. I’ll back your play no matter what you do. Pepper can handle the SI side of things. I’m just being your dad through this.” That’s good, because you already have your mind pretty made up on how you plan to handle this.

The next morning you get dressed in one of your favorite outfits. A pair of ripped blue jeans, a black baseball tee that reads ‘I Don’t Have Time For Your Biphobia. Bi Felicia!’, your favorite jean jacket, and the hightops that started it all. You even go digging through your stuff that you haven’t unpacked to find the bi pride scrunchie that you wore to pride last year. It’s basically just a pink, purple, and blue tie-dyed scrunchie, but it will add to your outfit. Standing in front of the mirror that is attached to your closet you snap a photo and post it to your Instagram, the caption reading  **No going back into the closet ever. #bipride** . Are you causing more problems? Maybe, but no one will ever say you’re not Tony Stark’s kid.

“This the play I need to back?” Your dad asks as you sit down at the table.

“I have about a million bi pride shirts. So until this dies down…” You shrug and take a sip of your green juice. 

“I’ll back the play.” Pepper comes downstairs in a white dress, getting ready to head into SI for the day. 

“So you’re fighting with the internet now?” She asks, already having seen your Instagram post.

“Hey you bought the shoes so is it really my fault?” You say before you eat the eggs in front of you.

“True, but this,” she motions to your outfit, “screams Tony Stark, not Pepper Potts.”

“Like father, like daughter.” Tony says with a smile. 

“You know you’re just going to get more backlash the more you egg them on?” Pepper gives you another chance to back out of this before you leave the house.

You shrug. “If that’s what I have to put up with then, we might as well get ready for a storm. I’m not going to hide who I am just because some people on the internet aren’t happy about it.”

“Well you look adorable, so we’ll support you if this is how you want to deal with it all.” Pepper says ghosting a kiss on the side of your head, not to get any lipstick on you. “But if the paparazzi are too much, you call Happy, promise?”

“Call Happy? I’ll call Iron Man at that point.” You say before biting into your toast. “He’ll get them all to back off.”

“She’s not wrong.” Tony mumbles and Pepper’s face reads that she doesn’t have the time to deal with this. “Someone messes with my kid, I’m going to fight back.” He didn’t tell her he was already going to look up shirts to support you. There has to be like my LGBT kid is great type shirts out there. And he’ll wear all of them to support you.

The tabloids are loving your passive fight. Each day new pictures show up of you heading to school. First there was your biphobia shirt, next you wore a black shirt that showed the phases of the moon in the different color of the bi pride flag and said ‘Not A Phase’. Then you wore a shirt that read ‘If You Play for Both Teams You Always Win’ colored to also resemble your pride flag. After that you wore a shirt that said ‘Being Straight Was My Phase. LGBT’ in rainbow letters. The following two days, even though it was a weekend you still posted pictures on your Instagram of you hanging at home wearing a shirt that said ‘Born This Way’ in your pride flag colors and then the next day wearing a sweatshirt that said ‘Why Not Both?’ in pink, purple, and blue.

“Keeping the fight going?” Pepper asks as you dig through your clothing to find the right top for today. 

“Always.”

“SI’s press team wants to release an official statement from your dad and I regarding this. Especially if you plan to keep doing this which, knowing who your dad is, I have a feeling this is continuing, so Happy is going to bring you to SI after school. But can you bring a second shirt?”

“What kind of shirt? Like a button down?” Pepper shakes her head.

“Another one of these shirts. One you haven’t worn yet.” That answer confuses you but you shrug it off. “You’re going to be a part of the press release if you’re ok with it.”

“I’m fine with it as long as we’re not doing something to hide who I am.”

“Definitely not. You’ll see. I’ll see you after school ok? I have to get going.” You nod and Pepper starts to walk out of your room and you call after her.

“Pepper, I love you.”

“I love you too Y/N. Exactly the way you are. Even if you’re driving the press team at SI crazy.” You can’t help but smile at that.

For school, you pull out a tie-dye/acid wash bi pride flag shirt that just reads pride in all caps. Picking a shirt for a press release is harder to pick. This is going to be an official statement, not just pap pictures and your Instagram feed. So you decide to lean away from the more joking ones and pull out a simple white shirt that reads ‘I Put The’ in black letters, a ‘B’ in purple, ‘In’ in black again, and then ‘LGBTQ’ in red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. That seems like a good option. You fold it up and throw it in your backpack. 

Peter meets you at the front door of the school where you waved at the paps so they can get yet another picture of your bi pride outfit. “You’re just going to keep egging the internet on?” He teases you as you walk into MSST. 

“Why not? I’m making a point.”

“You’re doing it in a very Tony Stark kind of way. Very I am Iron Man, but more like I am bisexual.” You laugh at your boyfriend.

“Yeah, well this isn’t the first time I’ve acted like him according to other people.” You think back to what Pepper said this morning. “Mom-uh Pepper wants me to be in an official statement from SI though.”

“What about?” You motion to yourself. “And are you going to?”

“It seems like one of the only ways to get people to shut up about everything. Right now everyone keeps tagging Dad and Mo-Pepper in the tweets about me wanting their statement. A lot of the homophobes are saying they should kick me out. A lot of the supporters are wanting to see a supportive Pepperony.”

“Pepperony?”

“Apparently my parents have a ship name.” You roll your eyes. “All that matters to me is giving a big middle finger to the people who are judging me. But I’ve… I’ve never been a part of any of the press releases so it’s weird.”

“It’s going to be fine. Where is it happening?”

“The tower I would assume since that’s where SI is based out of right now.”

“Then I’ll come with you.”

“Really? But you’re not interning today? You’d be going into Manhattan for nothing.”

“I’d be going into Manhattan to support my girlfriend. That is not nothing.” His arm wraps around your shoulder and he places a kiss on your cheek. “What kind of boyfriend am I if not supportive?” You roll your eyes.

“Fine, but tell your friend Spider-Man to stay home. Dad will kill you if he shows up at the press release.”

“Wouldn’t even think of it. Today’s about you.” You text your dad to tell him Peter is going to come with you to the tower and aren’t surprised the response says the same thing about his friend.

Arriving at the tower, your heart rate rises just a little bit. You don’t know how this is going to go. But you know that Dad and Pepper have been great about everything and if you got uncomfortable, they would stop everything in a heartbeat. Happy escorts you and Peter up what used to be your apartment, which is apparently where everything is happening. They’ve moved some furniture in to make it look more lived in. “The woman of the hour has arrived!” Your dad says as you walk in. 

“What are you wearing?” You look at his black t-shirt and can’t believe it. ‘Dad with Pride’ it reads in white letters except for the pride which is in rainbow stripes.

“Took a page out of your book for this one kiddo.” He kisses your head. “Wanna go get changed?” You shrug and start to walk off to the bathroom before turning on your heels. 

“Be nice. No protective dad right now. Be the Tony that talks to Peter about the lab or something along those lines.” You point a finger at your dad as you say this. Tony hasn’t exactly been happy that you’re dating Peter, but he’s trying to be more accepting of it. He just tends to act a little over the top when in his dad shoes.

“I’ll be nice. Go get changed.” It only takes a few moments to swap shirts. When you walk into the living room, you see that Pepper is now with Tony and Peter. You set your backpack and your jean jacket over by the elevator. 

“Is Dad being nice?” You ask Peter as you take his hand.

“We were telling Miss Potts about the progress we made on the closed loop system the other day.” Peter explains smiling at you. He’s tried to explain it to you a few dozen times but you’ve explained to him, as long as it works that’s all you care about. 

“I made sure he played nice.” Pepper says with a teasing grin aimed at your dad. You notice she’s wearing almost the same shirt that your dad is wearing except for her’s says ‘Mom with Pride’ instead. 

“Miss Potts, Miss Stark, Mr. Stark, we’re ready for you.” Peter squeezes your hand and goes over to the side to be out of the way. “I’m Cassidy with People. I’m going to be doing the interview. All of it will be sent to SI for approval before printing on this Friday.”

“Perfect. Nadia will be your touchpoint on all of that.” Pepper says.

“Is this your first interview Miss Stark?” Cassidy looks at you.

“You can call me Y/N. Miss Stark is way too formal. Yeah this is my first interview.”

“I think first names will make everything easier.” Your dad adds.

“Definitely can do. Now I think the easiest will be to start by taking some photos and then we can sit down and do the interview part. This is Emmerich, he’s going to photograph you guys.” Cassidy points to a man who holds a camera. “Where should we get them started?” She directs her question towards Emmerich. Your dad wraps an arm around your shoulder while you wait.

“Let’s start with them on the couch. Having Y/N sit between Pepper and Tony.” The photo shoot takes a little over half an hour, with shots being taken of the group as well as individual shots of you and your parents. After he says he got the shots he needs, Cassidy directs you all back to the couch.

“This will be a pretty comfy casual interview. If something we bring up makes you uncomfortable, just say you don’t want to answer and we’ll move on, ok?” Cassidy explains and you nod. Was it really that easy? Guess you’ll find out. “I’m going to record as long as you don’t mind. This just makes it easier for me later on to have the answers that I paraphrase in my notes.”

“That’s alright.” Pepper says. Tony nods and drapes an arm around you. You sink into the comfort of your dad and wait for the actual questions to start.

“So Y/N you started a whole explosion on the internet last week with a pair of shoes? Was that how you meant to come out to the world?”

“I didn’t think of it as coming out. I’ve been out to my family and friends for, well, ever. So when,” You glance at Pepper, unsure what to call her in an official capacity but decide to bite the bullet and just go with your gut, “my mom gave me the shoes I just thought awesome I get to rep bi pride while I wear my favorite shoes. I didn’t think it would cause the explosion it did. I didn’t realize I had to ‘come out’ to the public.” You draw air quotes around come out since it wasn’t intentional. “I was just being me.” You shrug.

“I didn’t even think of it either when I gave you the shoes. I thought they would just be fun.” Pepper tags on. “I didn’t realize they’d cause such a commotion.”

“So the original picture of you wearing the shoes, that was just you living your everyday life. However the days following, you’ve been posting to Instagram your bi pride outfits and making sure they’re seen each day. That’s more of a statement. What are you trying to say?” 

You think for a moment before answering. “I wanted to make it clear to people that seemed to have a problem with who I am, that I love who I am. I rep bi pride as much as I can and I won’t stop that anytime soon. Their homophobic and biphobic comments aren’t going to make me go back in the closet and they definitely aren’t going to magically turn me straight.”

“Tony and Pepper, I have to ask, when Y/N decided to make this statement, how did you feel about it? Did you have hesitations about her publicly putting this statement out there?”

“Not at all. I back her plays when it comes to how she wants to handle her sexuality. She’s my kid and I love her exactly the way she is. Whoever she ends up with, guy, girl, alien, they’ll be lucky to have her. Will they deal with the threat of Iron Man if they hurt my little girl? Yes. Anyone who hurts my kid does.”

“I have to basically second what he said. We love Y/N for who she is, not because of who she loves. But this situation, especially where she was being attacked for who she is, that was a situation where it very much came down to how she wanted to handle it.” Pepper adds on. “Plus, if I have to choose between letting Y/N decide how to handle a situation or letting Tony, I’m picking Y/N every time. She’s very mature for her age.”

“This tactic screams Tony Stark though.”

“I said she was mature. I didn’t say she wasn’t Tony’s kid. She’s going to act like him at times.” Pepper smirks.

“You love us though.” You tease Pepper.

“I definitely do.” Pepper kisses the top of your head. “You keep my life interesting. Wouldn’t give that up for anything.”

“I have to ask, the shirts?” Cassidy points to Pepper and Tony’s shirts.

“That was all Tony.”

“But inspired by Y/N’s amazing collection. I really want to get one of those Free Dad Hug shirts to wear to Pride next year.”

“We could get shirts for all the Avengers. Free Aunts and Uncles hugs too!” You suggest.

“If that would make you happy kiddo, I bet they’d do it for you.” 

“Pepper, how is Stark Industries taking Y/N’s coming out as she is listed to take over when she comes of age?”

“We’re just happy she’s happy. SI has never discriminated based off of someone’s race or sexual orientation. So why would that change when it comes to one of our own?” Pepper hugs you over Tony’s arm. “I think they’re more excited to know that Tony has twice as many people to fight off from being attracted to our daughter.” Cassidy jotts down a couple of notes before turning to look at you.

“Since this is your first interview since the announcement of you being Tony’s daughter, can we ask a few questions about how the adjustment has been?”

“Sure. But to answer the question everyone always asks before it happens, Dad doesn’t let me near the Iron Man suit so I don’t know what it’s like to fly in it.” You smile as you answer that.

“Best part of being a Stark?”

“Having a bigger family. I got a mom and dad out of this.” You motion towards your parents.

“Worst thing?”

“The green juice obsession my dad has. I don’t need green juice every day!” You exclaim. 

“It’s good for you kiddo. You’ll thank me later.”

“Or I’ll turn green with how much green juice you make me.”

“Best thing that’s occurred since all of this happened?”

“Um, I think I’d have to say either when Mom adopted me or knowing that my dad is working on a closed loop insulin pump which means it might actually hit the market some point soon.”

“Who’s your favorite Avenger?”

“Iron Man. Obviously. But I would say Black Widow or Spider-Man are close seconds.” You glance over at Peter and see him smiling at you.

“Favorite Band?”

“The Rolling Stones.”

“To my dismay.” Tony mumbles and Pepper laughs. 

“You two and your music fight.”

“Favorite color?”

“Pink, purple, and blue.” You smile, knowing people will laugh that you said the bi pride flag but it’s true.

“Favorite parent?”

“No comment. I’m not getting grounded again.” You throw your hands up as all the adults laugh.

“Place you want to visit?”

“Disney World, Grand Canyon, and London.” Tony makes a mental note to plan some trips.

“Favorite place in NYC?”

“If I share that, it will stop being my secret place. But I’ve posted about it on Instagram, so if people find it on their own, then who am I to stop them?”

“Favorite thing someone told you recently?”

“That I should just respond to this whole situation in a very Tony Stark manner and say I am bisexual like when he came out as Iron Man.” You dad laughs at that.

“Favorite movie?”

“Labyrinth. Hands down. It’s got amazing music.”

“Ok, I think we have everything we need.” Cassidy says before shutting off the recorder. “I’ll send the piece to Nadia for approval before it’s published.”

“Perfect, thank you.” Pepper says as she shakes Cassidy’s hand.

“Y/N it was an honor to be your first interview. And off the book, I love your sticking it to the man approach.” Cassidy smiles at you before turning to your dad. “You’ve got a great kid Tony.”

“Oh I know I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Only two more chapters to go! Let me know what you thought about this. Also someone asked if I can turn this into a series so you can subscribe to get updates when the sequel comes out. The work is now a series so that you can subscribe:) See you Friday!


	27. Chapter 27

“Wakey, wakey birthday girl.” Your dad’s voice comes from your doorway.

“If you really love me you’ll let me sleep.” You mumble, pulling your blankets towards your chin.

“Loving you has nothing to do with it. You have to get ready for school. But I wanted to be the first to say happy birthday.” You feel the edge of your bed sink in as your dad sits down. You look over, blinking as the bright light hits you a bit too hard. “How does it feel to be fifteen?”

“The same as it felt to be fourteen?” you shrug. “How did you know it’s my birthday?”

“I’ve seen your birth certificate. I’m not going to forget my kid’s birthday.” Tony reaches forward to push the hair away from your face. “You’ve got a busy day ahead of you. So if it were me, I’d get up and get ready.”

“If it’s my birthday shouldn’t I be allowed to do what I want? Like stay in bed all day?”

“Pepper will never allow that. Get up kiddo. You’ve got school to get to.”

“So you’re saying Mom is the one who’s actually in charge?”

“Most definitely.” Tony says before kissing your forehead. “Now get ready so you can have your birthday breakfast before school.”

“Does it involve green juice?”

“Would it be breakfast without green juice?” You roll your eyes, but push your covers back and climb out of bed. Reaching into your dresser, you pull out a pair of black ripped jeans before going digging in your closet for a shirt for today. Sassy shirt or band tee? Which seems right? But then your eyes fall on the blue tie dyed Pink Floyd tour t-shirt. That’s what you want to wear today. It’s slightly cropped, but not enough for it to be a dress code issue. You pull on the shirt and the jeans and then reach for a pair of red high tops. You love how comfy casual this is. The last thing it needs is your favorite jean jacket and you’ll be set. At least clothing wise anyway. You’ll add a couple small pieces of jewelry, your heart pendant and some earrings, and maybe throw your hair into a ponytail just so it doesn’t annoy you throughout the day. After a couple swipes of mascara and a little lipgloss, you feel ready to head downstairs. When you walk into the kitchen, your mom and dad are both waiting for you. A stack of pancakes are waiting for you with a couple candles stuck in them. You look at them puzzled. “Pepper said I couldn’t give you cake for breakfast so I figured this was the closest we could get.”

“Cake would just spike you and then you’d get hungry way before lunch.” Pepper rolls her eyes.

“I love it.” Nana and Pops had always made your birthday special, but this is a completely different kind of special. Your dad takes a lighter and lights the candles. 

“Make a wish.” He pulls his phone out and snaps a picture as you blow out the candles. Tony can’t help but smile at you. “So anything you want to do for your birthday?”

“You don’t have today already planned?”

“I have some rough ideas, but I thought I’d get some input from the birthday girl herself.”

“I want to hang out with Peter after school.”

“Sure, invite him over.”

“I mean outside of the apartment.”

“Take Happy with you.”

“Dad-”

“Nope. Dead set on this one.”

“Fine.” You text Peter to see if he’s up for doing something after school. You’d be surprised if he says something other than sure.

“You have to be home by six.” Pepper adds. “Birthday dinner. But Peter can come too.”

“Where are we going for it?”

“Where would you like to go?” Pepper asks.

“Can we go to that Italian place we went a few weeks back?”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Tony says.

“So what did you want to do?” Peter asks as he finds you after your German class.

“I don’t care. I just wanted to be free from the apartment for a few hours.” You admit. 

“Well it’s your birthday, so anything you want to do is on the cards.”

“I could go for coffee?” You suggest.

“Coffee it is for my girl.” Peter takes your hand and walks you to the side of the school but you shake your head. “What? This is the quicker way.”

“I promised my dad we would go with Happy. He’ll be waiting in front of the school.”

“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like me.” Peter’s nose scrunches as he says this but follows you towards the front of the school.

“That’s just Happy’s personality.”

“He likes you.”

“That’s ‘cause Tony’s my dad. I’m a Stark- he like has to like me or he doesn’t get paid.” You joke. “Did you tell May that my mom and dad said you’re invited to dinner?” Peter nods his head.

“Already texted her about it. She said to wish you a happy birthday.”

“Aw, May’s the best.”

“She is pretty great, as long as you don’t eat her cooking.” Peter says with a smile.

“The vegetarian food she made for me was pretty decent.”

“That’s because most of it was premade.” Peter smirks at you.

“That stuff is pretty hard to mess up.” You admit. You walk outside to the sound of your name being called and feel Peter drop your hand. You both walk over to where Happy is standing. 

“How was school kid?” Happy asks you.

“Not bad.” You say as he opens the door for you and Peter to climb into the back seat. 

“Where are we heading?” Happy asks as he sits down in the front seat. 

“Coffee.” You say, knowing Happy knows where your favorite shop is.

“Anything for the birthday girl.” Happy turns a blinker on and pulls away from the curb. You click open your phone and see that your dad tagged you in a picture from this morning at the breakfast table. 

“My dad can’t seem to keep anything private. The whole world knows it’s my birthday now.” You say to Peter.

“It’s just ‘cause he loves you kid.” Happy’s voice flows from the front seat. You roll your eyes, but you know he’s right. Now your notifications are filled with thousands of birthday messages on your dad’s photo. But you also see a few pictures you’ve been tagged in, so you click on your profile to have easier access to them. Some are from people you don’t know, edits of pictures you’ve posted or the paps have, but a few are from Betty, MJ, Ned, and then you see that Peter tagged you in a picture. You click over to peter_p’s profile and see the collage of photos from the few months you two have been dating and some from your snapchat streak before that, but it’s the comment that he posted that gets you.

**Happy birthday to the best girlfriend I could have ever asked for @y/nstark. I’m my happiest when I’m with you and I’ve never laughed as hard as I do when you make me laugh. Here’s to fifteen years treating you the best it should. Hopefully fifteen is when I finally get you to watch Star Wars too. You have my <3 babe. Here’s the first of many birthdays together.**

You look over at Peter, who is oblivious to the fact that you just read his birthday message. Feeling your eyes on him, he looks up at you. “What’s up?”

“You have my heart too.” Peter takes your hand in his and places kisses on your knuckles. It’s the closest either of you have gotten to saying ‘I love you’ in the almost six months of dating. It feels important. 

“I think mine was yours before we even started dating. But I wouldn’t tell your dad that or I might not live to your next birthday.” Peter admits.

“I’m pretty good at keeping secrets.”

“So Peter, how’s your year going at MSST?” Pepper asks after orders have been placed.

“Good. I think anyway. I’m waiting for a couple of midterm grades to come back, but besides that my grades are where I want them to be and I’m taking my SAT and ACT for the third time next weekend.”

“Wanting to score well enough for MIT?” Tony asks.

“He’s trying to aim for scholarship levels. He’s already scored high enough to get in.” You say, unable to not brag about your boyfriend. Peter’s ears go pink at your words.

“Good to hear. If I’m going to talk to them about admitting you next year, then-”

“You’re a year off Dad.”

“I think we could get Peter into college a year early. I went early. I think Peter could do it too. He’s smart enough.”

“I won’t have the necessary classes.” Peter says.

“So we talk to MSST and you could take some extra classes to graduate early.” Tony points out.

“You’re just trying to get him a few states away from me.” You point out before taking a sip from your water glass.

“I think May isn’t ready for me to head off to college for a couple years. Financially.” Peter says with a slight cough.

“Well there’s always the September Grant.”

“Yeah that’s what you told her about when you came over the first time. I don’t think she’ll go for that lie again.” Peter says, reaching for his own water glass.

“The September Grant is a real grant.” Pepper says. “And it is through MIT. Now if somebody,” she looks at your dad, “utilized the name to cover for something else, he’ll have to explain that. But it’s a very real grant.” She lifts her wine glass but before taking a sip she adds, “And whenever you’re ready to head to college, it’s open to you.”

“Wow, um thank you?” Peter says, his cheeks going red. “I think today is supposed to be about Y/N though.” You smile at your boyfriend.

“Right, our birthday girl. How has your birthday been so far?” Your dad asks, taking a sip from his whiskey glass.

“Good. I got a 100 on my English essay. And I passed my Chemistry and Biology midterms. So I won’t have to retake either of those classes next year hopefully.” 

“Never doubted you would pass.” Your mom says with a smile. Personally, you don’t love the fact that you have to take two science classes a year at MSST, but you’re doing it. 

“A 100 on your essay? That deserves a toast I think.” Tony raises his glass. You roll your eyes but raise your glass too. “To our English scholar and birthday girl.” After clinking glasses, your appetizers were brought out. Bruschetta for you and Pepper, a salad for your dad, and fried cheese bites for Peter. As you all munch on your food, the conversation flows between projects your dad and Peter are working on, SI things, and more school talk from you and Peter. This continues through entrees as well. Your dad offers to order dessert, but Pepper reminds him that there’s cake at home.

Little did you know, there are also a multitude of people waiting for you at home. Uncle Rhodey must have let everyone in, but when you walk into your house there’s a group of people shouting “Happy Birthday!”. You look around the room, seeing your friends- Astrid, Betty, MJ, and Ned- standing near Nana and Pops as well as Vision and, to your and Tony’s surprise, your Aunt Nat standing to the side of the room. Peter’s hand is wrapped around your waist, he knows you’re excited to see your aunt. However, his sixth sense tells him that some of the people in the room, Tony and even possibly Colonel Rhodes, don't seem to like that she’s here. Neither man seems ready to drag her out of the room, at least not in front of you, seeing how she’s part of the reasons that Captain America got away. But you don’t know that. No one except the people who weren't in Germany know that. So he’ll smile and play nice, to make you happy on your birthday. 

While you’re over giving hugs to your Nana and Pops, Rhodey and Tony make their way to say something to Natasha. “You’re here just for this. As soon as gifts are opened and cake is cut, you disappear, or-”

“I know. I wasn’t going to disappoint Y/N and miss her birthday.” Natasha says, squaring off to Tony, reminding him that he might be an Avenger but she’s not one to be messed with either.

“You’re still wanted for what happened in Germany.”

“I know.” Before any of them can say anything else, the birthday girl’s arms are wrapped around her aunt’s waist.

“Aunt Nat, you’re here!” Rhodey and Tony step away to give Natasha a moment with you.

“I am. I wasn’t going to miss your birthday.”

“Is Dad and Uncle Rhodey going to send you away to some like prison or something after this?” You ask all worried, but your aunt shakes her head.

“I’m pardoned for one night. It’s a birthday gift I think.”

“I’ll take it.” You pull your aunt in for another hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too. But today’s about celebrating you. So…” She trails off, motioning towards your friends and family. Across the room, Betty, Astrid, and Ned all look awestruck at the sight of you talking with the Black Widow. 

“Come meet my friends.” You say, pointing towards where your friends are waiting. The room fills with the sounds of you talking with the people you love and who love you. Tony queues FRIDAY to play some of your favorite music and everyone relaxes into celebrating you. You end up on the couch surrounded by your parents to open gifts, the rest of your family and friends sitting in various places in the living room. So far you’ve opened a lot of graphic tees and books. Peter got you a shirt that said ‘The Sass is Strong With This One’ in the Star Wars print as well as a sweatshirt that said ‘Friday is My Second Favorite F Word’ which got a laugh out of everyone, Natasha got you some books you had added to your Goodreads page recently, Betty got you two sweatshirts that read ‘Gangsta Napper’ and ‘I’d Rather Be Sleeping’. You’re now on the gifts from Nana and Pops.

“We thought it was time for you to finally have these.” You unwrap the first of the two boxes, a smaller one. Taking off the paper, you’re surprised to find a jewelry box waiting for you. Inside is a pair of pearl earrings. “These were your mom’s. When she went into rehab, she left them with us, because she wanted to make sure that you had something of hers, one day.” You try to swallow the lump in your throat as you take the paper off the other box, finding a matching necklace. You don’t know what to say. You don’t remember the woman who left these for you as she went off to required rehab after giving birth to a crack baby. When you hear Mom, your thoughts go to Pepper, not the woman who these belong to. But you let the cold, weighted stones drape over your hand as you hold the necklace. “She wanted you to have them one day.”

“Those are beautiful.” Pepper says softly from next to you, breaking the silence that you hadn’t known how to break.

“Right, yeah, thanks Nana. These are gorgeous.” Pepper can tell there’s something about the jewelry that is making you uncomfortable, but she’s not going to just ask you in front of everyone. She can wait until it’s just you, her, and Tony, or even just you and her later. But the Mama Bear in her wants to pull you into her arms and never let you go. You place the two offending boxes on the coffee table.

“My turn!” Astrid says holding a light blue gift bag out towards you. “I’ve been waiting weeks to give this to you.” You pull out the tissue paper and reach a hand in to pull out a pair of Mickey Ears that are sparkling black with a rainbow bow in the center. “It’s the pride ears you talked about!” 

“I love them Astrid!” Your friends know how obsessed you are with collecting new Pride stuff to have on hand for Pride Events or just day to day life. “Maybe I’ll wear them to Pride this year.” 

“There’s more in there.” You pull out a grey shirt that says ‘To Read or Not To Read, What A Stupid Question’ as well as a baseball tee that reads ‘God Said Adam and Eve so I Did Both’ in Blue, Pink, and Purple ink.

“Astrid, these are amazing.” 

Ned gave you a Labyrinth board game, Vision had gotten you some anti-math graphic tees, and now Uncle Rhodey was going to give you gifts before your parents give you their gifts.

“For you Baby Stark.” Your Uncle Rhodey hands you a box and you roll your eyes at the nickname.

“I thought my dad was the one who is supposed to be the one with all the nicknames.”

“Hang around him too long and you start up on them too.” You take the paper off and open the white box to find more graphic tee shirts. The first one you get not even halfway through reading when your dad shouts out.

“Absolutely not.” You finish reading the white print on the black shirt ‘Look Like A Princess Fight Like An Avenger.’

“You don’t like it, Tones?” Your uncle teases.

“Yeah Dad? I thought this would be my motto from here on out.”

“Burn it.” Your dad says angrily and your mom laughs. You turn the shirt around so your confused guests can read it. Everyone laughs as you set it on the coffee table to see what else is in the box. Underneath, there is a black sweatshirt that reads ‘The Trash Get Picked Up Tomorrow. Get Ready.’ Lastly, there’s a tee that reads ‘I’m Allergic to Mondays’. All of the shirts you’ve gotten so far are very you. 

“Thanks Uncle Rhodey.” You set the shirts with the growing pile of new ones you’ve received today. 

“Our turn.” Your dad says, reaching beside the couch to pull out a few boxes. 

“This is way too many.” Most people at the party had limited to one gift. But your dad seems to have forgotten that there is such a thing as limiting one’s self.

“It’s not every day your kid turns fifteen.” You raise an eyebrow, telling him that that excuse doesn’t work. “Plus these are from me and Pep.”

“Fine.” You roll your eyes. He hands you a bigger box first, one that if you had to guess is probably a pair of converse. You take the paper off the box and aren’t surprised to find the familiar black and brown box waiting under the paper. But the shoes you find inside the box, you’ve never seen before. “Galaxy hightops?” You look to your mom, knowing that she had to be the one to find these.

“Thought you might enjoy them.” She says with a smile. You throw your arms around her. 

“These are so cool!” 

“Wow I see that I’m just chopped liver.” Your dad teases. You wrap your arms around him too.

“Thanks Dad.” He places a kiss on your forehead. 

“Open the next one. I think you’ll enjoy that one too.” This box is a slimmer, flatter box and you guess it’s probably some piece of clothing, seeing as it doesn’t weigh a ton. You slide a finger under the tape to open the box open up after taking the paper off and open it up to find another jean jacket looking at you. You’re confused, since you already have one you wear a lot, but you take it out of the box and flip it to the back to look at the jacket before saying anything. And that’s when you see it. The tongue sticking out of a mouth. It’s a Rolling Stones jean jacket. You look between your parents.

“This one was all your dad.” Pepper says softly and the smile grows on your face. 

“Even though they’re only subpar?” You ask.

“They make you happy and that’s what matters.” This time, your arms are around your dad before you can stop yourself.

“I love you.” 

“I love you too. Always and forever kiddo.” Tony holds you close for a moment, before saying a little louder. “I think you’ve still got a couple more things to open.” He slides another flat box into your lap, saving the most important gift for last. 

“Ok, ok.” You say, tearing the paper from the box. You’re guessing this is another clothing item and if it follows the trend of everyone else's gifts, it’s probably a graphic tee. But upon opening the box, you realize your guess is wrong. Sitting in the box is one of the most beautiful dresses you’ve ever seen. It’s a black cotton dress with flowers printed on it. There’s a burgundy trim around the neckline of the dress as well as white iridescent buttons, and at the bottom of the dress is an almost tribal looking print covering the bottom of the dress. 

“I saw this in a shop and knew you had to have it.” Pepper admits. 

“It’s beautiful.” You breathe out softly. “Thank you.” 

“Of course.” Pepper says like it’s no big deal, and maybe it isn’t to her, but it is to you. It’s your mom buying things like this because she thought it was important that you have things like that. It matters to you. Tony grabs the last box and hands it to Pepper instead of you, which throws you off. There’s a moment of conversation that happens only between their eyes. But Pepper takes a breath and then holds the box out to you. You look at her, silently asking if you should open it. She smiles at you and you start to take the paper off the small box. As you take the paper off, Pepper explains. “This is something that has been passed down from mother to daughter in my family for generations and when my mom gave it to me, she told me to hold on to it until the day that I wanted to give it to my daughter.” You open another jewelry box to see a beautiful opal ring with two small diamonds on either side of the gem. 

“Wow. You want me to have this?” You can’t help but ask, staring at the ring in your hands. 

“Why wouldn’t I want my daughter to have it?” Pepper asks, wrapping an arm around you. You lean into her side. “It’s yours until the day you want to give it to your daughter.” She says, as if passing a family heirloom on to you was no big deal. You take the ring out of the black velvet and hold the gold band between two fingers for a moment before sliding it onto your middle finger, guessing that that finger is the one that it will fit the best on. “We can get it resized if we need to.”

“No, it’s perfect.” You say, looking at where it now sits. You might never take the opal ring off, because it looks perfect where it is. You look up from the ring to look at your mom, when out of the corner of your eye, you spot Nana and Pops. They had given you jewelry too and you hadn’t directly put it on. Are you insulting them? “Thanks Mom.” You say giving Pepper another hug.

Later that night you find yourself looking at the ring as you sit on your bed. Your birthday has been pretty perfect, but you can’t help but think about the situation with the jewelry and wonder if you should have handled it differently. Should you have put on your biological mother’s jewelry instead? Should you have put on both? The questions linger in your head as you stare at the ring that you love because it came from Pepper.

“So all in all how was the big birthday?” Pepper’s voice draws you from your thoughts. 

You smile before answering, “Good. I don’t think I could have asked for a better birthday.” 

“You know you don’t have to wear it if it makes you uncomfortable or anything.” Pepper says as she makes her way towards your bed to sit.

You don’t understand what she means. “Huh?”

“The ring. It’s yours. But you don’t have to wear it-”

“I don’t think I’ll ever take it off.” You cut her off before she has the chance to finish her thought. “I love it Mom.” You reassure her.

“If I had known your grandparents were bringing you jewelry too, I would have saved it for another day. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or try to, I don’t know, step over your mom’s place-” Once again you cut her off before she can finish her thought.

“You didn’t.” Pepper looks at you, trying to gauge where you are at with everything that happened tonight. “If anything, I don’t know how to feel about their gift. But I know how I feel about yours.”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.” Pepper says. You let your hand fall so you’re not staring at the ring, but your fingers of your left hand reach to your right to twist it.

“You know how I told you she left for rehab right after I was born because I was born addicted?” Pepper nods, remembering the story you shared right after you moved in with her and Tony. “Well, that’s a story I heard from someone else. I don’t have any actual memories from her. And I have the quilt she made and now the jewelry, but…” you trail off for a moment, collecting your thoughts. “It’s hard… I don’t know if she actually left those pieces for me to have, or if Nana and Pops took them so she couldn’t sell them for drug money. Nana and Pops have told me the truth about why my biological mother isn’t here. But she was a drug addict. There was a lot of stuff that Nana would mention off hand to Pops about being gone that she missed in terms of jewelry and stuff because my biological mother sold it. So I feel like I only have these pieces because Nana hid them, not because my biological mother wanted me to have them. Getting them as gifts, it… it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Because it’s something that Nana more wanted me to have than the mother that left me to go back to the drugs that could have killed me.” You take in a shaky inhale before continuing. “But you? You wanted me. You adopted me and you gave me stuff that was meant for your daughter.”

“You are my daughter Y/N.”

“There’s nothing saying that you and Dad won’t have a daughter one day.”

“We already do.” Pepper corrects you. “Can I sit?” She motions next to you. You nod. She sits next to you, wrapping her arm around you. You lean into the scent of lavender that calms you especially when coming from Pepper. “You’re my kid. Whether or not your dad and I have more kids one day, you will always be my first born. That’s why I wanted to give the ring to you. Because it felt the way it did when my mom gave the ring to me. It felt right. And one day, you’ll feel the same way when you give it to your kid. You’re my kid.”

“I feel…” You stop yourself, not sure if you should even voice it.

“You feel…?” Pepper asks, but doesn’t push.

You decide to start it a different way. “I worry that Nana and Pops might hate that I found you to be my mom.”

“If they do, we can sit down and talk with them. With everything else you have on your plate, you don’t need to be worried about anything else. Right now, you just need to focus on staying with the things that make you happy.” Pepper says, running her hand through your hair, hoping it will calm you. “You don’t need to spend your birthday night stressing.”

“I love you Mom.”

“I love you too sweetheart. Always have, always will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter! See you Monday for the final chapter! If you missed in the last chapter I have changed this to a series so you can subscribe to get notified when I post the sequel. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some dialogue that I borrowed from Avengers: Infinity War. I tried to spread it out so that there is new stuff in between it when I could. That being said don't skip over sections that are borrowed because they are needed.

“Mom have you seen my jacket?” You ask as you walk from the living room back into the kitchen. You’re already dressed in ripped jeans, galaxy converse, and a grey AC/DC shirt.

“Which jacket?” Pepper asks as she stirs the eggs she’s cooking for you.

“My denim one? I wore it yesterday? Or maybe it was the day before?”

“Have you checked your room?”

“I looked there when I was getting ready. I didn’t see it.” Instead of being dressed for the office, Pepper is wearing running gear. “Are you going into the office today?”

“In a little bit. Your dad wants to go to the park for a run first.”

“Dad running? Since when?”

“I think your birthday is making him feel O-L-D.” Pepper teases as Tony walks down the stairs.

“I can still spell even if I’m getting old.” Tony responds. In his hand he’s holding your Rolling Stones jacket. “You left this on the stairs kiddo.”

“Oh, right! I meant to take it up last night.” You shrug it over your shoulders before sitting down at the food that Pepper made for you.

“What’s with the pep in your step today?”

“Field trip. I don’t have to be at school today.”

“Field trip?” Your dad asks as he sits down next to you. “Where to?”

“MoMA. My art class is going.”

“Ah so you and the young Parker are getting out of school to go look at art. How sweet.” Your dad says with a teasing tone remembering how Peter ended up in your art class after switching in in the second six weeks. “With how much it cost for you to go to that school, I would think you would spend more time at school than on field trips.”

“It’s educational. I promise.”

“Sure it is.”

“What your dad is trying to say is have fun.” Pepper says with a laugh. “He and I are going to go so can you lock up when you leave with Happy?” You nod. “Perfect. Have fun, love you, see you after school.”

“Love you kiddo.” Your dad kisses the top of your head. Pepper places a kiss behind him. You munch on your toast as they walk towards the door. Today should be a fairly normal day, apart from the field trip.

“Slow down, slow down. I’ll spell it out for you.” Tony tries to get Pepper to listen as he tries to explain his dream from last night while they walk through the park together.

“You’re totally rambling.”

“No I’m not.” Tony throws back in his own defense.

“You lost me.”

“Look, you know how you’re having a dream, and in the dream you gotta pee.” Tony ties his jacket around his shoulders as he says this.

“Yeah.”

“Okay. And then you’re like ‘Oh my God. There’s no bathrooms. What am I gonna do? Oh, someone’s watching.’”

“Right.”

“‘Oh, I’m gonna go in my pants.’”

“And then you wake up and in real life you actually have to pee.” Pepper catches his drift.

“Yes.” Tony’s hand waves in agreement.

“Yeah. Everybody has that.”

“Right that’s the point I’m trying to make. Apropos of that, last night I dreamt we had a kid.”

“We have a kid. Y/N.” Pepper points out with a smile.

“No like a baby.” Tony explains. “It was so real. We named him after your eccentric uncle. Uh what was his name? Morgan! Morgan.”

“Right. So when you woke up…”

“Naturally.”

“...and thought we were…”

“Expecting.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes?”

“No.” Pepper smiles at him as she says it.

“I had a dream about it. It was so real.”

“If you wanted to have another kid, you wouldn’t have done that.” Pepper unties the sweater and taps on the nanoparticle home.

“I’m glad you brought this up, ‘cause it’s nothing. It’s just a housing unit for nanoparticles.”

“You’re not helping your case, okay?”

“No, this is detachable. It’s not a…”

“You don’t need that. Y/N didn’t need you to get that. I didn’t need you to get that. Your family needs you to put them first sometimes ok?”

“I know. I had the surgery. I’m just trying to protect us and future usses and that’s it. Just in case there’s a monster in the closet. Instead of, you know…”

“Shirts.”

“You know me so well.”

“God.”

“You finish all my sentences.”

“You should have shirts in your closet.”

“Yeah, you know what there should be? No more surprises. We’re going to have a nice dinner tonight. Hear all about Y/N’s field trip. Show off this Harry Winston. Right?” Pepper chuckles at his antics. “And we should have no more surprises. Ever. I should promise you.”

“Yes.”

“I will.” Tony leans in to kiss Pepper. “Thank you.”

“Tony Stark?” Pepper pulls away at the sound of someone calling Tony’s name. Tony on the other hand can only roll his eyes because this was exactly the kind of thing he was talking about. “I’m Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me.” Pepper grabs Tony’s hand at this. “Oh and uh congratulations on the wedding, by the way.”

“I’m sorry, are you giving out tickets to something?”

“We need your help. It’s not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is at stake.”

“And who’s we?”

“Hey Tony.” Bruce appears by Stephen’s side, shocking both Tony and Pepper after so much time without him.

“Bruce.”

“Pepper.”

“Hi.”

“Oh.”

“Are you ok?” Tony asks as Bruce falls into hugging him. What has happened while he was away?

“Ready for this field trip?” Peter asks as he sits down next to you on the bus.

“I’m always ready. Getting out of school for the day? Hell yeah.” You nudge your boyfriend’s shoulder. “Are you ready to see MoMA?”

“I guess so. I haven’t been since Ben died so…” Peter trails off.

“Babe, you haven’t been to MoMA since then? Why?”

“Ben really liked seeing the new exhibits and he would take me with him when he went. It just felt wrong to go without him.” Peter explains as the bus takes off from MSST and heads towards MoMA. “But there’s a first time to do stuff since you lose people I guess.”

“It’s going to be fine. I’ll be with you the whole time.” You say as you take his hand in yours. Peter leans forward on the seat in front of you so he can look in your direction.

“Well that will make everything better.” Suddenly the hairs on Peter’s arm stand straight up.

“What?” 

“Something’s wrong.” Peter mumbles. “Spidey senses are off the wall.” His voice is no louder than a whisper.

“Something like a giant donut spaceship floating over NYC seem off enough?” You say pointing towards the window beside him. He turns to look and the recognition on his face tells you all you need to know. Looks like Peter may not be on the field trip after all.

“Can you and Ned create a distraction?”

“Of course. But you’ll be safe?”

“Always am.” He kisses you on the lips really quick before you tap Ned on the shoulder. Ned spins around to look at you. 

“Guy in the chair needs to distract everyone with me.” You say quickly, but as Ned turns he sees the ship out the window.

“Holy shit.” He then turns towards the back of the bus and yells, “We’re all gonna die! There’s a spaceship!” You follow him towards the back of the bus as people start calling out asking what’s going on. But your eyes catch Peter’s one more time before he opens the emergency exit window with his web shooter. While everyone else is watching the spaceship, your eyes are trailing out the back of the bus as Peter jumps off the bridge. You know he’ll web himself to safety, but it makes your stomach fall to your toes every time.

Peter swings into the park where he sees a big angry alien… if he had to guess, swinging a sword/ax at Tony. So he does the one thing he knows how to do, he grabs it. “Hey man. What’s up Mr. Stark?” 

“Kid where did you come from?”

“Field trip, to MoMA.” Peter screams as he’s thrown in the other direction. “Uh what is this guy’s problem Mr. Stark?”

“Uh he’s from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard.” As the alien throws cars around and Tony tries to laser him, Peter webs the car and swings it back at the alien. Which might just make him more angry, but that’s half the fun. Right as the alien swings his ax down again, a red object zooms by. “Kid that’s the wizard, get on it.”

“On it!” Swinging across New York, he finally grabs the wizard when a blue light grabs the wizard and pulls them both up towards the sky. “Uh, Mr. Stark, I’m being beamed up.”

“Hang on kid!” Wong traps the alien in an icy tundra, slicing off the hand that reaches up towards them. “Wong you’re invited to my wedding.” Tony shouts before jetting off to rescue his daughter’s boyfriend, who happens to be climbing up the side of the alien spaceship. “Give me a little juice FRIDAY. Unlock 17:A.” His boots morph together to form one big foot thruster. “Pete you gotta let go. I’m gonna catch you.” He says over the comms to Peter.

“But you said save the wizard.” Peter pulls his mask off as he says, “I can’t breathe.”

“We’re too high up. You’re running out of air.” If your boyfriend dies in space, you might kill your dad, so he’s going to do everything he can to save the kid.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Peter’s hands slip from the ship as he runs out of air. But the Iron Spider suit Tony had been working on arrives just in time to grab hold of Peter and save him from falling back to Earth. Instead he just hits the ship a time or two before having air to breathe again. Peter grabs a hold of the ship and stands back up. “Mr. Stark, it smells like a new car in here!”

“Happy trails, kid. FRIDAY send him home.”

“Yep.” A parachute deploys and pulls Peter off the ship.

“Oh come on!” As Tony cuts into the side of the ship, FRIDAY alerts him of something else.

“Boss incoming call from Miss Potts.”

“Tony are you alright? What’s going on?”

“Yeah I’m fine. I just think we might have to push our 8:30 res.”

“Why?”

“Just ‘cause I’ll probably not make it back for a while.”

“Tell me you’re not on that ship.”

“Yeah.”

“God, no, please tell me you’re not on the ship.”

“Honey, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“Come back here Tony. I swear to God. I will take Y/N and I will leave for good. No more surprises. You promised.”

“Pep.”

“Come back here right now.” Static starts to crackle. “Come back.”

“Boss we’re losing her.”

“I’m going too…” Pepper’s voice breaks off as the call drops. While Tony is dealing with this call, Peter is climbing up his webs, back onto the ship he had been told not to be on. 

All he can mutter is “I should have stayed on the bus,” as the doors shut on the ship.

The ship is no longer in the sky. You watched it fly away. But you don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, because now you can’t get a hold of your dad or Peter. So you call the one person who has always had to be in the same position as you- you call your mom.

“Y/N? Are you ok?”

“Mom tell me Dad didn’t do something stupid and get on that ship.” Your school group is starting to walk into the first exhibit hall, but you need reassurance right now, not art pieces. Pepper doesn’t say anything for a moment, trying to figure out how to tell you that your dad is on that ship. “He’s on that ship isn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? Why would he be stupid enough to get on an alien space ship?”

“Because he’s stupid enough to think that saving the world falls on his shoulders and his alone.”

“I think Peter might have been stupid enough to think that too.” You say as soon as you know your class is out of hearing range.

“What?”

“I’ve tried calling him and he’s not picking up.”

“I thought he was on the field trip with you?”

“He was until he saw an alien ship in the sky. Then he decided that he needed to be a superhero. And now he won’t pick up the phone and he always picks up the phone, even when he’s in his suit.” You voice the concerns you’re having. “And my calls to Dad aren’t going through either which makes me think that Peter is with him.”

“He wouldn’t be stupid enough to take a fifteen year old with him on a space ship.” Pepper tries to reassure you.

“But just because he doesn’t take Peter doesn’t mean that Peter isn’t stupid enough to follow him.”

“Sounds like we both need to date smarter men.”

“They’re booksmart. I’m just not sure if they’re life smart.”

“I think I’d agree with that.”

“But we also love them too much to let them go.”

“That’s also true.” Pepper doesn’t comment on the fact that you just admitted that you love Peter. “But I also know that your dad will do anything to keep Peter safe if he’s with him. So you just focus on your school trip and at the end of the day, they’ll all come home safe.” Pepper’s promise doesn’t hold much truth to it, but you know your mom is trying to calm you more than anything. “I’m going to send Happy to pick you up from the museum and bring you to SI.”

“Right now?”

“No, but he’ll be there to pick you up when everyone heads back to school.”

“That’s not necessary. I’ll just head back to school and then he can pick me up from school. But Mom, if you hear from Dad, can you tell him I love him?”

“He knows you love him.”

“But I didn’t say it to him this morning and if something happens to him…” You feel the tears welling in your eyes.

“Nothing is going to happen to him. He knows you love him.”

“You don’t know that. Every time he walks out the door to play Avenger, he could leave and not come back. He could die out there today. And I couldn’t take the two seconds it would have taken to tell him I loved him this morning.” The tears drizzle down your face as you mutter the words you feel in your soul. Out of the corner of your eye you see Ned waiting by the door leading to the next exhibit area. You wipe the tears from your cheeks. “So just if you hear from him tell him ok, Mom?”

“I will. Now just for now, don’t think about all of this. Just focus on the field trip and I’ll see you after it ok? Everything is going to be ok.”

“Mom? I love you.”

“I love you too Y/N. So much.” You hang up the phone and Ned walks over.

“Everything alright?”

“No, but the universe doesn’t usually ask me before it makes it’s decisions.”

“Have you heard from Peter?” You shake your head. 

“I can’t get a hold of him or my dad. My mom said my dad is on that donut that flew out of the sky, which makes me think if I can’t get a hold of Peter…”

“He’s on it too.” Ned finishes your thought. “Peter’s in space with Iron Man. That’s so cool.” Ned mumbles but then sees your face. “Ok, not the point right now. What’s our plan?”

“We don’t have one. We’re not Avengers. We just wait around until the rest of them hopefully show up.” And you do what you hope is the next best step, you text your aunt-  **SOS.**

**N:Don’t worry. Avengers are on it.** **Focus on school.**

Why does everyone think you’ll be able to focus on anything when your dad and boyfriend disappeared on an alien spaceship? 

**Y:you all think i’m going to be able to focus on learning when my dad and boyfriend have just gone missing? that’s the stupidest thing i’ve ever heard of coming from two of the smartest women i know.**

**N:I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but this isn’t on your shoulders. The Avengers will take care of this fight. I promise you, we’ll get them back. Any way we have to.**

“Anything?” Ned asks quietly, as your tour guide goes on pointing out different pieces of art. You shake your head.

“Apparently it’s an Avenger problem, not a me problem, according to Aunt Nat.”

“It’s still cool that you can just text Avengers.”

“Ned, my dad is literally an Avenger. It loses the coolness factor when your dad leaves on missions and you don’t know if he’ll come back alive or not.”

“That’s true I guess.” He looks at the art piece next to you. “But still you get to text the Black Widow! Isn’t that cool?”

“She’s just my Aunt Nat. I’ve hung out with her watching horror movies and talking about crushes. It feels different than saying I text the Black Widow.” You glance over at the statue, trying to take it in so you can write your report when you get home.

“They could have tried to put at least one blemish on it.” MJ mutters and you nod in agreement.

“Uh, Y/N?”

“Ned?” You turn from MJ to see Ned staring at his hand. It’s turning to dust in front of his eyes. “Ned, what’s happening?”

“I think something’s wrong.” His other hand starts to turn into dust and you don’t understand. 

“What is happening?”

“Something that can’t be good.” MJ says and you turn to see her hands turning to dust as well. “Y/N, something is wrong. Really wrong.” Your friends are turning to dust in front of your eyes. You can’t stop it, you can’t figure out what’s wrong. So you do the one thing you know to do when something is wrong- you call your mom.

“Y/N? Please tell me you’re not turning to dust too?”

“Mom, I don’t get what’s happening.”

“I don’t know either. But something isn’t right.” Your mom sounds stressed and worried at the same time you lift a hand to run through your hair and that’s when you see it. Your hand is disappearing before your eyes.

“Mom. Mom, I’m scared. My hand, it’s going.”

“Y/N, everything is going to be alright. It’s going to be ok.” Pepper doesn’t tell you that she has tears streaming down her cheeks. She needs to stay calm for you. You’re the one fading into nothing. She can stay calm for you in this moment. 

“Mom, Mom. I don’t want to go. Please. I don’t know what’s happening. Mom, please make it stop.” Pepper closes her eyes as she listens to your pleads.

“It’s going to be alright sweetheart. Everything is going to be ok.” You watch in horror as Ned fades into nothing but a pile of dust.

“Mom, Ned’s gone. MJ’s seconds away from going. I don’t want to go too. Please make it stop.”

“Everything is going to be alright baby. Just breathe. Everything is going to be ok.” Pepper lies to you.

“Mom, I love you. Tell Dad I love him too. I don’t want to go. Tell him that. I never wanted to go. Having you two as parents was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Your eyes look in horror as MJ turns into dust too.

“We feel the same about you.”

“I love you. I love you so much Mom. I’m sorry. I don’t want to go. I love you.”

“We love you too.” Pepper knows she only has seconds left with you so she wants to make sure you know this before it’s too late.

“I love yo-” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end yall. See you in the sequel.


End file.
